Boring Common Core Standards

The Wall Street Journal has an amusing article here describing the difficulties that researchers have when they are studying boredom.  They have trouble finding enough boring material to put subjects in front of.  Building a fish farm was one thing they came up with:

You think learning to set up a fish tank is boring?  Look what the new Common Core Standards are now requiring of fourth graders.  A direct quote:

“CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.”

Nine-year-olds should be hunched over fascinating books, like Harry Potter, or the Rick Riordan books.  Avid readers acquire sophisticated reading skills.  Kids dragged through exercises like this just learn that reading is a boring chore.