ROBERT REDFORD'S 50'S, THEN AND NOW
I shuddered when I read in Wakefield's article that "editorials suggested that the young Van Doren . . .  was making education popular." Shows in which contestants regurgitate facts to win big bucks reinforce the popular belief that education is supposed to turn people into well-behaved but well-paid nerds. It's a shame that "The Quiz Kids" seems to have been legit; the cause of education would have benefited if that show had perished in a scandal the way that "Twenty-One" did. JAMES D. MCCAWLEY Chicago