The Multitudinous Rs

Early last Saturday morning, the Senate finally approved the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which attempts to elucidate a set of nationwide educational standards. Below are some of the abilities Congress -- a body known for both its inability to balance budgets and its occasional eagerness to disregard the accumulated wisdom of the past -- thinks high school graduates ought to have in math, history and a variety of other subjects.

Arts

-- Know dances and dancers prior to the 20th century

-- Identify historical sources of American musical theater

-- Identify famous musicians

Math

-- Know how to use a calculator

-- Interpret tables, charts, graphs

Civics and Government

-- Identify the Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence

-- Explain the difference between a citizen and an alien

-- Know the function of the U.N., NATO, Amnesty International

Geography

-- Know how to use an atlas, a map, a globe

-- Explain how war, famine and disease play significant roles in human migration

Science

-- Know what matter is

-- Understand reproduction and heredity

-- Define a cell

English

-- Write clearly

-- Know how to use a thesaurus

History

-- Develop a position as to whether the Civil War was avoidable

-- Identify Woodrow Wilson