I must say, other than a brief review of the facts, and stumbling across some common business procedures, I've been doing a spectacular job of not paying attention to "Common Core"-- the system by which Federal Government Initiatives guarantee future generations will star in Idiocracry.
During the prologue, a narrator explains the story's premise: while science fiction often imagines future civilizations being peaceful, prosperous and technologically advanced, in actuality, the 21st Century seemed to be tacking [sic] directly opposite. Natural selection is indifferent toward intelligence when there are no threats such as wars or predators that put the stupid at a disadvantage. As a result, stupid people, who have sex whenever they want, will outbreed the intelligent, who limit their sex due to foresight of having to take responsibility for the forthcoming babies.Fun movie.
I'm stupidly working to get things in order for forthcoming changes here at the Farm. This involved moving some
For example,
here is Johnson's 4th Reader. 1897. |
Click to enlarge & read. |
Oh my goodness! Did you read that? Fourth graders who are "deeply interested" in Greek mythology? Kids who never go beyond fifth grade are exposed to the classics?
Statue of Diana. No. Not that Diana. |
... the chief ends of a reading lesson-- the development of a taste for good literature, and the enlargement of the vocabulary...Mind you, this is just the Preface. Wait until you see some of the
A poem about Maidenhood |
Maiden, with the meek brown eyes,Good Lord! It just goes on and on. Who in the Modern World thinks a kid has any interest in reading this long-winded Longfellow fellow? To ask nothing of Bryon, Tennyson, and John Greenleaf Whittier?
In whose orbs a shadow lies
Like the dusk in evening skies.
Thou, whose locks outshine the sun,
Golden tresses, wreathed in one,
As the braided streamlets run!
And then there's the Pro-Country Pro-God Prose. Good Lord! I ask you, in this day & age, who cares about Washington's Rules of Conduct?
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
Undertake not what you cannot preform, but be careful to keep your promise.
Be not tedious in discourse.
Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.
Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation.
When you speak of God or His attributes, let it be seriously, in Reverence.Seriously? A 4th grader is supposed to worry about his reputation? Discover he has a conscience? Learn to keep promises? Be succinct? Manful? And to learn to not say, "F*&^ing Jesus Christ" every time the lights go out?
Each evening, as I lay my little head down to sleep with a bag of peanuts at my feet I thank the Good Lord Almighty on High that this nonsense has been dispensed with.
4th graders need to read:
a variety of genres including poetry and fantasy, first and third person narratives, and traditional stories from different cultures. .Including (forgot the link when posting, sorry 'bout that)
Book Title / ISBN | Author | Binding | Fiction/ Nonfiction | Interest Level | Reading Level | Alpha Level | List Price / Your Price | Quantity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Because Of Winn-Dixie
9780763644321
| DiCamillo, Kate | PB | F | 4-8 | 4 | R | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Beezus And Ramona
9780380709182
| Cleary, Beverly | PB | F | 3-5 | 4 | O | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Black Stallion
9780679813439
| Farley, Walter | PB | F | 5-8 | 5 | T | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Borrowers
9780152047375
| Norton, Mary | PB | F | 3-6 | 5 | S | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Boy Of A Thousand Faces
9780064410809
| Selznick, Brian | PB | F | 3-8 | 4 | R | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Casey At The Bat
9780698115576
| Thayer, Ernest Lawrence | PB | F | 1-5 | 2 |
| $5.99 $4.49 | |
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
9780142410318
| Dahl, Roald | PB | F | 3-6 | 6 | R | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Chocolate Touch
9780688161330
| Catling, Patrick Skene | PB | F | 3-6 | 3 | N | $5.99 $4.49 | |
Confetti: Poems For Children
9781880000854
| Mora, Pat | PB | F | P-3 | 3 |
| $8.95 $6.71 | |
The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty And The Beast Tale
9780064435185
| Yep, Laurence | PB | F | 2-5 | 3 | P | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Encounter
9780152013899
| Yolen, Jane | PB | F | 3-6 | 4 | N | $7.00 $5.25 | |
Help! Somebody Get Me Out Of Fourth Grade!
9780448436197
| Winkler, Henry | PB | F | 3-6 | R | $5.99 $4.49 | ||
The Indian In The Cupboard
9780375847530
| Banks, Lynne R. | PB | F | 4-7 | 6 | R | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Kneeknock Rise
9780312370091
| Babbitt, Natalie | PB | F | 4-7 | 5 | S | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Little House In The Big Woods
9780064400015
| Wilder, Laura Ingalls | PB | F | 3-6 | 3 | Q | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Little Prince
9780156012195
| de Saint-Exupery, Antoine | PB | F | 6-12 | X | $10.00 $7.50 | ||
M.C. Higgins, The Great
9781416914075
| Hamilton, Virginia | PB | F | 3-6 | 5 | X | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane
9780763647834
| DiCamillo, Kate | PB | F | 3-6 | 4 | U | $11.99 $8.99 | |
Misty Of Chincoteague
9781416927839
| Henry, Marguerite | PB | F | 4-6 | 4 | R | $5.99 $4.49 | |
The Most Beautiful Place In The World
9780394804248
| Cameron, Ann | PB | F | 2-5 | 3 | O | $5.99 $4.49 | |
Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH
9780689710681
| O'Brien, Robert C. | PB | F | 3-8 | 4 | V | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Sadako And The Thousand Paper Cranes
9780698118027
| Coerr, Eleanor | PB | F | 2-5 | 4 | R | $5.99 $4.49 | |
Sees Behind Trees
9780786813575
| Dorris, Michael | PB | F | 4-7 | 4 | T | $4.99 $3.74 | |
Show Way
970399237492
| Woodson, Jacqueline | HC | F | K-5 | 3 | P | $17.99 $13.49 | |
Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing
9780142408810
| Blume, Judy | PB | F | 3-5 | 4 | Q | $5.99 $4.49 | |
Tar Beach
9780517885444
| Ringgold, Faith | PB | F | K-3 | 4 | P | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The Trumpet Of The Swan
9780064408677
| White, E.B. | PB | F | 3-6 | 3 | R | $6.99 $5.24 | |
Weslandia
9780763610524
| Fleischman, Paul | PB | F | 1-5 | 3 | P | $6.99 $5.24 | |
The White Giraffe
9780142411520
| St. John, Lauren | PB | F | 3-7 | X | $6.99 $5.24 | ||
Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears
9780140549058
| Aardema, Verna | PB | F | K-3 | 3 | N |
I like a few of these books. Most likely, the ones I like will not be on next year's list.
But here's A QUESTION. If your are in the 4th grade, why do you have a 2nd grade book on your reading list, you moron? And look at that last book. K-3. You are in 4th grade now, dude. I would expect that by now you would be able to explain to me why mosquitoes are buzzing in ears.
It ain't all that complicated.
Get back to me when you've figured it out and we'll talk.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Be nice. Nothing inappropriate, please.