You know, you have to be really careful with satire. Some genius at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or the Whozit Foundation or the U.S. Department of Education might think it is serious and jump all over the idea.
Here is a truly dangerous satire by Diana Senechal. She envisions a National Misfit Data Base for kindergarten, to determine college and career readiness for tots.
As I said, be careful. This could easily get into the mainstream dialogue.
Oh, wait, I forgot. ACT is already developing a kindergarten assessment for college and career readiness. And the U.S. Department of Education is already funding a massive database for every child in every state in the nation. We may already have a “national misfit database.”
I guess what this proves is that we are living in a time that is hard to satirize. Just when you think you have written a parody, it turns out to be reality.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is part of the cradle to grave plan. Wait unti their data follows them to the USDept of labor and to future employers. Emmet McGroaraty (not sure of the spelling of his name) from AmericN Principles Project is the one to talk to. Obama bypassed congress to collect data
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Why Am I Such A Misfit?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xqACmJvqaU
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This is hilarious, yet scary. I guess I too would have been labeled a misfit in kindergarten also. Alcoholic parents, dysfunctional divorced family, no parent involvement, etc. I think back on what my teachers must have thought of my situation. But thanks to a crazy support system, I eventually made it to college and finished graduate school (4.0). Because of my home life I was a very late bloomer academically. My niece experienced the same situation until we took her in and helped set her on the right path. She is now in college. How many others have this same story? Would a misfit label in K have destined us to a different outcome? I would never think to blame my teachers. On the contrary, I appreciate that they kept teaching me, and didnt give up on me, regardless of my dysfunctional home life.
Data is useful, but doesn’t tell the whole story.
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Thank you for this. Yes–on the one hand, it’s difficult to write satirical pieces, given how close they come to reality. On the other hand, it’s uncannily easy; they more or less write themselves.
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This is way too close for comfort
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