MOTHER UPSET ABOUT THE DEMANDING KINDERGARTEN-ON-STEROIDS SKILLS LIST HER SON RECEIVED:

The perplexed mother thinks her son is mostly ready. “He knows most of this stuff,” she says, “but no idea how to [teach] him all 30 letters.”

Commenters are speculating on how this [Hamilton County, Ohio] school came up with “30+ letters” to identify. Some thought maybe they meant upper- and lowercase letters, while others suggested maybe they were including some German: “The kid should know german – ö ä ü ß are all additional letters, that makes 30.” Sure, why not.

Thirty letters in the alphabet? Man, the 21st century really isn’t turning out the way I had been promised back in the ’70s.