Dateline Normal, Mn.: Schools Eliminate Reading.....and Math too----FICTION

Well it sure has been wonderful with the warmer weather having arrived....I always like to give my old friend Herman in Normal, Mn. a call about this time of the year because it still is winter up in those parts. Normal is just south of Garrison, Mn., and just west of the land of Lake Woebegone..... A quiet fishing resort village where folks like me can escape to. ..... A place where if there is electricity at night at the motel, it is considered five star.

Herman answered my call on the first ring. "What's up, wolfman,(that's what he always used to call me.)? I quickly replied:

"It has been pretty quiet here in good old Wisconsin, but the big news is that a city near here, Edgerton, has decided to eliminate Reading and simply incorporate it into other courses. I mentioned that some schools were so gifted athletically that it was just a "no brainer" to eliminate an academic course rather than tamper with cutting the costs of athletics."

Herman cut me off in my explanation:

"Shucks, Wolfman, we eliminated BOTH Reading and Math years ago. We simply consolidated them and teach them as part of World History. We go over all the diverse types of counting that have been used over the ages, from the abacus to the latest calculators. As far as the READING course, we teach that as a part of history too-----as in "years ago people actually read something called "BOOKS" that they paid money for, but after the prices got high, audio books that were abridged became popular, and these could be placed on i-pods. Pretty soon, folks who loved reading were considered kinda "BACKWARD." And---cutting math and reading was great cause we could eliminate those salaries. Now we just use an audio library that we download for a set subscription fee. It works neat."

I was just stunned.

It sure is good to be back in good old Wisconsin----where we know the value of READING and MATH and not just as an element of a history course.