January 28, 2007
NO ESCAPE:
Awash in Words: Why the SAT makes lousy shower reading (Joel Achenbach, January 28, 2007, Washington Post)
One of the great traditions and cultural hallmarks of Western civilization is reading in the bathroom. In my house, this has taken on a dramatic new element with the acquisition of a shower curtain filled with 500 common SAT words. Santa Claus brought it as a lovely Christmas present for a teenager who understands that her societal worth and the honor of her family hinge entirely on her SAT score.Posted by Orrin Judd at January 28, 2007 12:32 PMThe shower curtain gives very brief definitions of the kinds of use-at-your-risk words that appear only on standardized tests. The vocabulary in our house is, I can proudly report, effervescing. And yet, despite my strict policy of avoiding arguments with inanimate objects (exception: CD wrapping), I find myself getting highly annoyed with the shower curtain.
When my kids were in high school, we had a contest going. If they could stump me with a word on their SAT study lists, they would win a prize. I don't remember what the prize was because my travels through the NYC public schools circa 1940-56 prepared me so well that no prize was ever awarded. Naturally it goes without saying that I never peeked at the vocabulary lists.
Posted by: erp at January 28, 2007 2:35 PMerp:
It's not SAT stuff, but when I was in the fifth grade (or thereabouts), my mom bet me $5 I couldn't spell "croquet." She's never again made the mistake of betting me that I couldn't spell something.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at January 28, 2007 6:25 PMMatt, your mother is one smart lady, but then having a son as smart as you, what else would she be.
Posted by: erp at January 28, 2007 7:11 PMerp:
Not necessarily all that smart on my part, just good spelling abilities. It's the one area where my memory is close to photographic.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at January 28, 2007 8:36 PM