“May you live in interesting times” is often claimed to be a Chinese curse.

But fans of the excellent website https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/12/18/live/ will know its origin is not from ancient China, but a more recent Western source which falsely ascribes the phrase to Chinese culture for rhetorical effect.

Nevertheless, “interesting times” ironically refers to difficult eras with upheaval, tension, and turmoil. This is what has been going on with English in England in recent years and months. See the links below for a flavour and leave a comment on what you think is going on.

https://englishassociation.ac.uk/the-state-of-the-subject-an-ea-report-2024/

https://englishassociation.ac.uk/ea-response-to-the-curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report/

https://englishassociation.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Working-Group-on-GCSE-Reform-FINAL.pdf

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/emc-response-to-curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report/

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/emc-response-to-2024-ofsted-english-subject-report/

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/emc-response-to-ofsted-curriculum-research-review-english/