When former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale and his wife Sally visited Lee Elementary School in Jackson, Miss., swarms of children reached out to high-five them, introduce themselves and show their latest drawings. Jim, dressed in khakis and open-collar shirt, strolled into a classroom and took a third-grader's seat. He crouched forward as each small student read aloud from the The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse--some in clear, proud voices; others in low, hesitant tones. Sally soothingly helped when they stumbled over a word, and Jim encouraged them to read with inflection.
Earlier this year the Barksdales created a $100 million...