9486 in the collection
Politicos at Work
by Susan Ohanian
If you find yourself in an extreme mood of self-flagellation, then you might want to take a look at the Draft Texas College Readiness Standards.
Maybe you should do it as this corporate-politico mood for mandating that high school teachers channel their teaching into college readiness is sweeping the country.
Truth in Disclosure: I got only as far as corporate politicos intoning Another reason that mechanics and usage are not separated from the writing process is that the context of communication—-what educators and scholars call the rhetorical situation—determines what is appropriate and what is effective. about the essential nature.
The rhetorical situation?
I taught for 20+ years and never called it that, nor heard anybody else call it that. I taught Rhetoric at a university and never heard anybody refer to what we were doing as a "situation."
I think a much more proper delineation might be the corporate-politico situation. Or maybe the corporate-politico obfuscation.
Then, I asked myself, "What am I doing with my life that I'd spend time reading such crap?
Better I should go soak my head in a bucket of Vermont maple syrup.
Instead, I plan to go read the new translation of War and Peace, which I am sure is much more illuminating than this outrage. [War and Peace, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, Alfred Knopf, 1273 pages.]
I bought the about two weeks ago. Call it sixth sense. I just felt a looming personal crisis.
I have read other versions of War and Peace twice before in my life, once in the summer between 8th and 8th grade when I decided I should read an "important" book. Funny thing: I loved the book but couldn't get through my other choice, David Copperfield. I've tried that book three or four times. Never been able to push myself through that rhetorical situation.
I read War and Peace again as an employee of the largest advertising agency in the world, trying to decide if I really wanted to spend my life making TV commercials. When I finished the book, I resigned and began taking night courses to qualify for an emergency credential teaching high school in a New York City school larger than my home town. That decision changed my life forever.
Meanwhile, back with the rhetorical situation in Texas. Here's how this Texas bunch describes their nefarious activity:
The Third Special Called Session of the 79th
Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1, which became
Section 28.008 of the Texas Education Code under
the title, “Advancement of College Readiness in Curriculum.”
This section requires the Texas Education
Agency (TEA) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board (THECB) to establish Vertical
Teams (VTs) to develop College Readiness Standards
(CRS) that address what students must know and be
able to do to succeed in entry-level courses offered at
Texas institutions of higher education.
You've been warned.
— Susan Ohanian and 79th Texas Legislature
Draft Texas College
2007-10-25
http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/collegereadiness/Draft_CRS.pdf
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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