Those funny men and women at the Palm Beach Post

It has been a week since I blogged on the Post's editorial. I'll make up for that tonight.

Joel Engelhardt wrote a funny column this week.

Most adults can’t read at a 10th-grade level. So why expect 10th-graders to do it?

The Post reported last Sunday on a Martin County teacher who asked her 10th-graders why they don’t like to read. “Boring” came back the reply. One sophomore suggested, “It wouldn’t hurt if they would add some pictures to the novel.”

Test scores show that 32 percent of Florida public-school 10th-graders can read at a 10th-grade level. That means two-thirds can’t. When those same kids were in sixth grade, statewide testing reveals, about half could read at grade level.
Simply stated, it’s easier to read at a sixth-grade level than at a 10th-grade level. Many people never get past that junior-high milestone.

Politicians are well aware of this phenomenon. It’s nice for them to contend that no child will be left behind, but they recognize that it isn’t happening. Just look at the level of some notable presidential campaign ads — Barry Goldwater and the bomb (1964), Willie Horton (1988) and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (2004). Simplistic recitation, vast exaggeration and constant repetition pass for national dialogue.

Want more evidence? Listen to what presidents say. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” (Bill Clinton.) “We have made the decision to defeat the terrorists abroad so we don’t have to face them here at home.” (George W. Bush.) They think they are addressing a nation of idiots. Test scores back them up.

Comparing the two Presidential statements is only possible by the far left. Who else would see such logic? Clinton had sex with Lewinsky, we are fighting a war outside our borders to protect attacks here. How is the later talking to people like they're idiots?

Engelhart's first statement. Why should we expect 10th graders to read at a 10th grade level? So they will be better educated of course!

Here is one last laugh from Mr. Engelhart.

Thanks to a Reading Level Calculator, published on the Web by freelance writer Linda Wasmer Andrews, I can measure a column’s reading level based on the number of three-syllable words. This one, I’m embarrassed to admit, is coming at you on a 10th-grade level.

Good thing I’m not running for office.

I'm glad you aren't either Joel. If this is a taste of your thinking, you would be a very dangerous person in office.

Open Post- Cao's Blog, Wizbang,