Srtingsinger has it right....sadly...

The conservative agenda NEEDS less educated citizens who can't read... and think... too well. They want the curriculum to favor spoon-fed conservative values and THEIR notion of history...especially the religious aspects.

Right now they are engaged in political maneuvering to get control of ALL the systems that promote their strange world-view...and if they can't get all of us to THINK like they wish, they hope to at least control the major parts of what we DO.