utopia.edu

The current administration proposes a sweeping change in education laws allowing "states to test subjects other than math and reading and use scores on those tests to rate their schools.” One of these other subjects is physical education - maybe because some officials in Washington remembered their education and that they once read (and comprehended) a Roman philosopher's motto "mens sana in corpore sano."
Writing is not on the list, which is astounding in an age when most people communicate by e-mailing, texting, blogging, or twittering. But then, the thing that "stands out as an incredible feat of embarrassment when it comes to the realm of academia" is not botching an essay or confusing since and sense or sum and some; it is choosing a ridiculous ringtone (The Daily Aztec 3/24/10). Perhaps the list of tested subjects should include ringtoneology to ensure that students indeed “graduate from high school prepared for college and a career.”
Be this as it may, the emphasis will shift away from math and reading because, according to administration officials, the goal “that every American child reach proficiency in reading and math … is utopian” (Sam Dillon in the NYT, March 14, 2010).

Here is a sneek-peek into the dystopia, the administration officials apparently have in mind.

WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text.
Dumbfounded citizens from Maine to California gazed helplessly at the frightening chunk of print, unsure of what to do next. Without an illustration, chart, or embedded YouTube video to ease them in, millions were frozen in place, terrified by the sight of one long, unbroken string of English words.
"Why won't it just tell me what it's about?" said Boston resident Charlyne Thomson, who was bombarded with the overwhelming mass of black text late Monday afternoon. "There are no bullet points, no highlighted parts. I've looked everywhere—there's nothing here but words."
"Ow," Thomson added after reading the first and last lines in an attempt to get the gist of whatever the article, review, or possibly recipe was about.
At 3:16 p.m., a deafening sigh was heard across the country as the nation grappled with the daunting cascade of syllables, whose unfamiliar letter-upon-letter structure stretched on for an endless 500 words...

Whoever can bear the drudgery of reading a 500 word article should keep continue reading here.