[The Lone Ranger]

I've often wondered at how our college-age students seem less and less capable every year. The textbooks we use in our introductory- and intermediate-level courses are typically written on a 7th- or 8th-grade reading level, and yet, no amount of polite suggestions, desperate pleading, or outright threats seem to be sufficient to convince students to actually read them.

I've had students -- college students, remember -- flat out say "I can't read this" when I tell them that they can't expect to pass the course if they don't do the reading assignments.


Well, perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised. Yesterday [Saturday], I attended a CPR training class, to renew my certification, along with several of my colleagues. As we were beginning, the instructor said, "I'm so glad I'm teaching this to a bunch of college professors today." "Why?" we asked.

"Because," she replied, "I usually teach this to high school students." "And why is that so stressful?" we asked. "Because when we get to the written exam at the end of the course, I can't just hand it to them and expect them to read and answer the questions on their own. All too often, I have to read it for them."


*Sigh*

I have yet to speak to a single high school-level teacher or counselor who thinks that No Child Left Behind was a good or effective idea.