Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

naughtyrev: Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Not satire. See US Dept of Education's "Race to the Top."

Wow, subby wasn't being satirical in the headline.

Supporters of the directive argue that it will help pupils to develop the ability to write concisely and factually, which will be more useful in the workplace than a knowledge of Shakespeare.

Bullsh*t. It's not the knowledge of Shakespeare that makes the kid employable or ready for college. It's his or her exposure, however cursory, to a wide range of subjects. Spitting out a kid who can only write as though it were a technical manual is not the way to fix things.

Catcher in the Rye was a stupid book.

dickfreckle: Spitting out a kid who can only write as though it were a technical manual is not the way to fix things.

Um, what do you think the education systems of half the world have been doing for the last 20 years? Those folks may not even know who Shakespeare is, but they did a dang good job gutting our manufacturing and technology industries. 

Perhaps we need to fight back in the same manner to catch up. Then again, either way, Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book, so it's of no loss to the classroom, imo.

/puts on flame retardant suit

Grand_Moff_Joseph: dickfreckle: Spitting out a kid who can only write as though it were a technical manual is not the way to fix things.

Um, what do you think the education systems of half the world have been doing for the last 20 years? Those folks may not even know who Shakespeare is, but they did a dang good job gutting our manufacturing and technology industries. 

Perhaps we need to fight back in the same manner to catch up. Then again, either way, Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book, so it's of no loss to the classroom, imo.

/puts on flame retardant suit

Our manufacturing and tech industries weren't gutted because we were teaching Shakespeare and other countries weren't.

"In the end, education has to be about more than simply ensuring that kids can get a job. Isn't it supposed to be about making well-rounded citizens?"

HAHA!! Yeah, sure, and prisons are for "rehabilitation."

naughtyrev: They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Even if true, I fail to see how that would help.

I hate people.

FlyingLizardOfDoom: Catcher in the Rye was a stupid book.

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book

Matthew 7:6

All you people bagging on the Catcher in the Rye are a bunch of PHONIES!

Dogberry: naughtyrev: Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Not satire. See US Dept of Education's "Race to the Top."

That's where the most heat escapes, after all.

/we need to double down on insulation

Shostie: All you people bagging on the Catcher in the Rye are a bunch of PHONIES!

And this is where they live.

dickfreckle: Supporters of the directive argue that it will help pupils to develop the ability to write concisely and factually, which will be more useful in the workplace than a knowledge of Shakespeare.

Bullsh*t. It's not the knowledge of Shakespeare that makes the kid employable or ready for college. It's his or her exposure, however cursory, to a wide range of subjects. Spitting out a kid who can only write as though it were a technical manual is not the way to fix things.

But, soft! what heat through yonder window escapes?
It is R-8, to protect Juliet from the sun.

FTFA: "A new school curriculum which will affect 46 out of 50 states will make it compulsory for at least 70 per cent of books studied to be non-fiction, in an effort to ready pupils for the workplace. "
And here is precicely the underlying problem in the US. We have changed our education system into a worker-bee development system.

ed·u·ca·tion/ˌɛdʒʊˈkeɪʃən/ Show Spelled [ej-oo-key-shuhn] noun
1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Education has nothing to do with being able to start working at Home Depot or Microsoft. Call me whackadoodle, but this is an indicator of our march from citizens to serfs.

But I will add that there are far better books than Catcher in the Rye....god that was awful.

Plus, there are no Cliff Notes for "Recommended Levels of Insulation". Joking aside, I think this is a travesty. Love literature or hate it, I cannot see the logic in removing it from the curriculum in favor of teaching kids about insulation so they are "prepared for the working world." We have to inspire kids to succeed. Not insult them by forcing mediocrity upon them.

doyner: But I will add that there are far better books than Catcher in the Rye....god that was awful.

At the time Catcher was assigned reading in HS I was digging Hesse's Demian. Emil Sinclair is a far more interesting study IMHO.

I thought this was satire as well. What the hell are people thinking? How could this possibly help kids in any way at all?

Dogberry: naughtyrev: Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Not satire. See US Dept of Education's "Race to the Top."

I went to DOE's RTTT website and searched for "Recommended Insulation Levels." Nothing relevant. Searched for "Invasive Plant Inventory." A hit on learning about ecological concepts in 5th grade which is entirely reasonable. If you have some more evidence, please share. This is on Drudge Report too so I'm halfway assuming its Bullshiat to begin with.

Klippoklondike: I thought this was satire as well. What the hell are people thinking? How could this possibly help kids in any way at all?

It'll help me with my blown out insulation.

"Neville Shunt's latest West End Success: It All Happened on the 11.20 from Hainault to Redhill via Horsham and Reigate, calling at Carshalton Beeches, Malmesbury, Tooting Bec and Croydon West is currently appearing at the Limp Theatre, Piccadilly. What Shunt is doing in this, as in his earlier nine plays, is to express the human condition in terms of British Rail."

Somacandra: Dogberry: naughtyrev: Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Not satire. See US Dept of Education's "Race to the Top."

I went to DOE's RTTT website and searched for "Recommended Insulation Levels." Nothing relevant. Searched for "Invasive Plant Inventory." A hit on learning about ecological concepts in 5th grade which is entirely reasonable. If you have some more evidence, please share. This is on Drudge Report too so I'm halfway assuming its Bullshiat to begin with.

There are articles by the Washington Post and the NY Times about it as well. So, looks real to me.

Link

Atticus wept.

"In the end, education has to be about more than simply ensuring that kids can get a job. Isn't it supposed to be about making well-rounded citizens?"

NOTHING in our culture encourages creativity. we despise artists, fear hackers and sideline anyone who steps outside the accepted norms. in some cases, that view is changing...but its moving very slowly, if at all.

Somacandra: Dogberry: naughtyrev: Please tell me this is satire. They think this will help make kids prepared for college?

Not satire. See US Dept of Education's "Race to the Top."

I went to DOE's RTTT website and searched for "Recommended Insulation Levels." Nothing relevant. Searched for "Invasive Plant Inventory." A hit on learning about ecological concepts in 5th grade which is entirely reasonable. If you have some more evidence, please share. This is on Drudge Report too so I'm halfway assuming its Bullshiat to begin with.

Would a NYT piece help?

I say a new petition to the White House is in order.
 
Replace this new book list with Ender's Game, and The Hobbit, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

So weird.

Growing up, my parents taught me applicable labor-based skills. How to do basic electronics. How to service a car engine. How to sew. How to build things. How to fix things. And in school I learned literature and science and math and history.

Today my parents would be making me read The Red Badge of Courage at home and at school I'd be learning how to gap a spark plug.

Diogenes: So weird.

Growing up, my parents taught me applicable labor-based skills. How to do basic electronics. How to service a car engine. How to sew. How to build things. How to fix things. And in school I learned literature and science and math and history.

Today my parents would be making me read The Red Badge of Courage at home and at school I'd be learning how to gap a spark plug.

When you put it that way it makes it even stranger, but it's so true.

This is particularly sad. It is imagination that leads to innovation. Innovation leads to efficiency, progress and improvement.

Darth_Lukecash: This is particularly sad. It is imagination that leads to innovation. Innovation leads to efficiency, progress and improvement.

yes, but then innovation threatens wall street and imagination leads one to question faith....so there's that.

Darth_Lukecash: This is particularly sad. It is imagination that leads to innovation. Innovation leads to efficiency, progress and improvement.

Did someone say efficiency and progress?

Efficiency and progress is ours once more
Now that we have the Neutron bomb
It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done
Away with excess enemy
But no less value to property
No sense in war but perfect sense at home:

The sun beams down on a brand new day
No more welfare tax to pay
Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light
Jobless millions whisked away
At last we have more room to play
All systems go to kill the poor tonight
...

Gonna
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor:Tonight

The perfect GOP anthem...especially since they don't understand snark

Wait...don't tell me they took Dead Kennedys out of the schools, too!

OK, the link is both funny and scary, I grant, but something about this does not pass the smell test. Did The Telegraph get punk'd?

First of all, I checked out the Common Core State Standards web page and could find nothing to support any of these assertions. In fact, many of the other claims on the Telegraph page seem to be explicitly contradicted by the Core Standards page. For example, they are certainly not proposing to eliminate or reduce the study of Shakespeare. The site specifically states, "In English‐language arts, the Standards require certain critical content for all students, including: classic myths and stories from around the world, America's Founding Documents, foundational American literature, and Shakespeare."

Second, the Telegraph cites no sources for its various claims about the new curriculum. Where exactly did they get these specifics? From The Onion? I did find a recommended reading list (.pdf) from one school system employing the Core Standards, and it does include "California Invasive Plant Council. Invasive Plant Inventory," but that system recommends it for middle schools, so it is certainly not a substitute for Catcher in the Rye. Check out the list for yourself. Personally, I found it to be a completely appropriate one for 6th to 8th graders, and fail to sense the problems suggested by the Telegraph article.

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Then again, either way, Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book, so it's of no loss to the classroom, imo.

/puts on flame retardant suit

You won't need that suit around me. I despise that book. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it's clearly the one with the most unearned importance attached to it. On the Road is in that league as well.

What u expect... Mericans can't read!

This was a horrible breakdown of this issue.

The real problem is apparently administrators' reading comprehension. The Core Curriculum's reading recommendations for informational texts is meant to apply when looking at the whole curriculum, not just English classrooms. In other words, you're supposed to be reading some essays and biographies and such in classes like Geography, Civics, History, and even Math and the Sciences. And yeah, a little in English, but it's only myopic administrators who think that reading only happens in one classroom that are saying they'll have to drastically cut fiction to meet the nonfiction standards.

dickfreckle: Grand_Moff_Joseph: Then again, either way, Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book, so it's of no loss to the classroom, imo.

/puts on flame retardant suit

You won't need that suit around me. I despise that book. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it's clearly the one with the most unearned importance attached to it. On the Road is in that league as well.

Walden Two, by B.F. Skinner. Easily the worst book I've ever read, but then I've never tried Twilight.

dickfreckle: Supporters of the directive argue that it will help pupils to develop the ability to write concisely and factually, which will be more useful in the workplace than a knowledge of Shakespeare.

Bullsh*t. It's not the knowledge of Shakespeare that makes the kid employable or ready for college. It's his or her exposure, however cursory, to a wide range of subjects. Spitting out a kid who can only write as though it were a technical manual is not the way to fix things.

No, actually, it's the ability to write (and even think) concisely and factually. Exposure to a wide range of topics that the little dolt forgets two hours later is useless.

Weaver95: Darth_Lukecash: This is particularly sad. It is imagination that leads to innovation. Innovation leads to efficiency, progress and improvement.

yes, but then innovation threatens wall street and imagination leads one to question faith....so there's that.

This couldn't be more wrong. 2000-2007 was the golden age of Wall Street innovation.

I double-checked that this wasn't from The Onion. Nope, it seems legit.

FTFA: Supporters of the directive argue that it will help pupils to develop the ability to write concisely and factually, which will be more useful in the workplace than a knowledge of Shakespeare.

I have less of a problem with this point, in relation to Shakespeare specifically (let the Drama kids read him). However, Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird are NOT Shakespeare. And I would NOT agree that replacing them with Invasive Plant Inventory is a good idea.

/I AM SO GLAD THAT I FINISHED PUBLIC SCHOOL BEFORE THE WORLD WENT INSANE

They should replace it with Scrotie McBoogerballs.

....wat.

Theyre finally getting rid of catcher i he wry? Nice

Can we get rid of Hemingway too? Old Man and the Sea was... Blesgh.

/keep shakespear

Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.

Will now be replaced with "Catcher in the Pumpernickel".

Grand_Moff_Joseph: /puts on flame retardant suit

I believe they prefer to be called suits for "special needs."

/How long until The Little Engine That Could" is considered 8th grade level reading?

i think less bullshiat in school and more fact is a good thing

Not all kids needs to read Catcher in the Rye and the like. Have some gifted classes, or an after school book club for the kids who care, where the books are available and it'll be fine.

Just take out all the shiatty Hemingway and I won't complain.

dickfreckle: Grand_Moff_Joseph: Then again, either way, Catcher in the Rye was a horrendously stupid book, so it's of no loss to the classroom, imo.

/puts on flame retardant suit

You won't need that suit around me. I despise that book. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it's clearly the one with the most unearned importance attached to it. On the Road is in that league as well.

The only other book I've disliked as much as Catcher in the Rye was Girl of the Limberlost, which few outside of a 4th grade class in Indiana have read. Grapes of Wrath was pretty close though.