1990S MAY MARK RETURN TO FAMILY VALUES; HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS LOOK TO THE FUTURE

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Being on the verge of becoming an adult in the 1990s almost automatically means you have a lot on your mind.

Ask some high school seniors what they think about most and you'll hear answers that are nothing like you would have heard 10 years ago.

Their concerns range from the war in the Persian Gulf to the environment, and from drugs to raising the standards of education in the United States.

And they think the future will be markedly different than the recent past. It will most likely resemble the '50s and early '60s, they say.

"I think the push has really returned to family values," said Chris Kunts, a senior at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau. "The money isn't always the important thing. It would be nice to be rich, if I felt like I was making a contribution to the world."

Chris said things that personified the 1980s are now considered, at best, out-of-style, and, at worst, corrupt.

"I think everything from the '80s is being re-examined," he said. "People like Donald Trump, well, people just shouldn't be like that."

Angie Tanner, Chris' classmate, agrees. "Success is very important, but not for money. It's important for self-esteem."

Chris and Angie are both college-bound seniors, who see their whole lives ahead of them. So does Jennifer Hamilton, a senior at Cape Central High School. Jennifer said she and her friends have similar concerns.

"Education and money for college" is what she said is most on her mind.

"Competition to get in a good school is so tough. You have to really work to stay in the top 10 percent of your class," Jennifer said. "And then you have to worry about paying for it."

Angie already knows what her major will be occupational therapy; Jennifer said she's unsure what career she'll pursue.

"I think education should be broad," said Jennifer. "You have to learn more about life before you decide what you're going to do with it."

The three maintain that in the 1990s, education will be more important than ever. But, they say, how much emphasis an individual puts on education depends on how he or she was raised.

Chris, whose parents are both teachers, said he was taught that setting goals is very important to success. He also said he's appalled at the state of education in America.

"The U.S. just isn't as competitive as it should be when it comes to education," he said. "We need to put more money into it."

According to Jennifer, a college education is almost essential to future success.

"I see people dropping out of school all the time and I think, `What are these people going to do without even a high school diploma?'"

But, Chris said that the generation raised in the 1990s will be the most technologically advanced.

"Our kids will be even more so than us, that's just the way it works," he said. "But then you think, all the problems of the past have been heaped on us, and we'll do the same to our own kids."

The three said they and their friends monitor world events, especially the Persian Gulf War.

Chris said he believes the U.S. should not be involved in it, but conceded that his opinion is in the minority.

"I think it's terrible what Saddam Hussein has done to Kuwait, but I don't think we have the right to be the moral guardian of the world," he said. "I think (the United States) needs to practice a little more isolationism."

Angie said the thought of people she knows, especially classmates, going to fight a war scares her.

But the future of the world, despite the war, looks peaceful, said Jennifer.

"I see the future as a peaceful world," she said. "But I know we have a long way to go."