Message #1164647

[tomterp]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/common-core-state-standards-in-english-spark-war-over-words/2012/12/02/4a9701b0-38e1-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html?hpid=z3

to me, this is sad

there's something to be said for getting exposed to literature in school

An excerpt from the linked article:

Jamie Highfill is mourning the six weeks’ worth of poetry she removed from her eighth-grade English class at Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville, Ark. She also dropped some short stories and a favorite unit on the legends of King Arthur to make room for essays by Malcolm Gladwell and a chapter from “The Tipping Point,” Gladwell’s book about social behavior.

"The Tipping Point" is an excellent read- provocative, informative, enlightening and not in the least bit boring.  If it were about making this sort of substitution, I'd say we need more.