Re-reading Radio Fifth Grade for funzies
Feb. 4th, 2018 01:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyThe humor still holds up. The situation doesn't.
The plot is that our main characters are fifth graders, and their new teacher - fresh out of school! - is all fired up about exploration and learning. So she assigns ten random trivia questions every week for the kids to discover the answers to. And since they can't figure out how to discover the answers (I'm with the kids on this one), they ask them on their radio show as a quiz, under the theory that nobody is going to call in the answers unless they know them, right?
Except their teacher would like to listen to their radio show, because she's supportive like that, and shenanigans ensue.
You can see the problem here. This only works if the answer to everything is not "Meh, let's just google it."
I don't usually support editing books for reprint, but I think the only way this book would work today is if a few carefully dated references are added into the book to make it clear that it is now Historical Fiction. Otherwise it just doesn't make sense to the young modern reader. Pity, really.
******
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The lawman and the outlaw: How cattle rustling and drugs are roiling rural America
Kenya government ignores court order suspending shutdown of three TV stations
Morality push may outlaw sex outside marriage in Indonesia
Miners' protest raises political temperature in Morocco
In pursuit of the tortoise smugglers
Inside the Top-Secret Abortion Underground
The Problem With ‘Asians Are Good at Science’
Women's prison populations in 35 states 'worse than men's' study says
How Voters With Disabilities Are Blocked From the Ballot Box
DHS lets protected Syrians stay in US another 18 months, newly arrived Syrians shut out
Syria's Kurds push US to stop Turkish assault on key enclave
Syria war: Why Turkey's battle for northern Syria matters
Donald Trump Just Asked Congress to End the Rule of Law
What Kids Are Really Learning About Slavery
What’s Driving The Recent Carnage In Kabul
The U.S. Is Losing Badly in Afghanistan, but the Trump Administration Is Telling Americans Less
‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system
5-Year-Olds Work Farm Machinery, and Injuries Follow
Air pollution: black, Hispanic and poor students most at risk from toxins – study (Shocking.)
The plot is that our main characters are fifth graders, and their new teacher - fresh out of school! - is all fired up about exploration and learning. So she assigns ten random trivia questions every week for the kids to discover the answers to. And since they can't figure out how to discover the answers (I'm with the kids on this one), they ask them on their radio show as a quiz, under the theory that nobody is going to call in the answers unless they know them, right?
Except their teacher would like to listen to their radio show, because she's supportive like that, and shenanigans ensue.
You can see the problem here. This only works if the answer to everything is not "Meh, let's just google it."
I don't usually support editing books for reprint, but I think the only way this book would work today is if a few carefully dated references are added into the book to make it clear that it is now Historical Fiction. Otherwise it just doesn't make sense to the young modern reader. Pity, really.
Sharp stones found in India signal surprisingly early toolmaking advances
Europe's strange border anomaly
6 Fruits With Surprising Flavors
Hey, How Old Is That Octopus?
House dust mites evolved a new way to protect their genome
The 100-year-old protest posters that show women's outrage
With elbow grease and conviction, Jordanian women move into male vocations
Masher Menace: When American Women First Confronted Their Sexual Harassers
US will target asylum backlog by reviewing newer cases first
Artificial intelligence is going to supercharge surveillance
Rise of 'morality schools' for Chinese women sparks outcry
Russia Putin: Kremlin accuses US of meddling in election
While You Are Tweeting About the Nunes Memo, Russia Is Plotting Its Midterms Attack
The lawman and the outlaw: How cattle rustling and drugs are roiling rural America
Kenya government ignores court order suspending shutdown of three TV stations
Morality push may outlaw sex outside marriage in Indonesia
Miners' protest raises political temperature in Morocco
In pursuit of the tortoise smugglers
Inside the Top-Secret Abortion Underground
The Problem With ‘Asians Are Good at Science’
Women's prison populations in 35 states 'worse than men's' study says
How Voters With Disabilities Are Blocked From the Ballot Box
DHS lets protected Syrians stay in US another 18 months, newly arrived Syrians shut out
Syria's Kurds push US to stop Turkish assault on key enclave
Syria war: Why Turkey's battle for northern Syria matters
Donald Trump Just Asked Congress to End the Rule of Law
What Kids Are Really Learning About Slavery
What’s Driving The Recent Carnage In Kabul
The U.S. Is Losing Badly in Afghanistan, but the Trump Administration Is Telling Americans Less
‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system
5-Year-Olds Work Farm Machinery, and Injuries Follow
Air pollution: black, Hispanic and poor students most at risk from toxins – study (Shocking.)
