A testing time

Education is a modern obsession. Even we bought sticky alphabet letters for the children’s bath. But the toddler merely proceeded to eat and choke on the foam, while the older children amused themselves writing expletives for our dinner guests. Now it is back to school, and seemingly all future happiness and wealth rests solely on a university degree. At the same time, new childhood diagnoses have ballooned: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, and dyslexia. Dyslexia is especially common, and parents often say, “Get him [or her] tested, …