NY Dept. of Education to ban Dinosaurs, Poverty, Sex from standardized tests

Started by Syt, March 28, 2012, 01:48:01 PM

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Syt

March 28, 2012, 01:48:01 PM
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/war-on-words-nyc-dept-of-education-wants-50-forbidden-words-removed-from-standardized-tests/

QuoteWar On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 'Forbidden' Words Banned From Standardized Tests

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — George Carlin is rolling over in his grave.

The New York City Department of Education is waging a war on words of sorts, and is seeking to have words they deem upsetting removed from standardized tests.

Fearing that certain words and topics can make students feel unpleasant, officials are requesting 50 or so words be removed from city-issued tests.

The word "dinosaur" made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. "Halloween" is targeted because it suggests paganism; a "birthday" might not be happy to all because it isn't celebrated by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Julie Lewis' family celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa, but she told CBS 2′s Emily Smith she wants her children to appreciate and learn about other holidays and celebrations.

"They're going to meet people from all walks of life and they're going to have to learn to adjust," Lewis said.

Words that suggest wealth are excluded because they could make kids jealous. "Poverty" is also on the forbidden list. That's something Sy Fliegal with the Center for Educational Innovation calls ridiculous.

"The Petersons take a vacation for five days in their Mercedes ... so what? You think our kids are going to be offended because they don't have a Mercedes? You think our kids are going to say 'I'm offended; how could they ask me a question about a Mercedes? I don't have a Mercedes!'" Fliegal said.

In a throwback to "Footloose," the word "dancing" is also taboo. However, there is good news for kids that like "ballet": The city made an exception for this form of dance.

Also banned are references to "divorce" and "disease," because kids taking the tests may have relatives who split from spouses or are ill.

Some students think banning these words from periodic assessment tests is ridiculous.

"If you don't celebrate one thing you might have a friend that does it. So I don't see why people would find it offensive," Curtis High School Sophomore Jamella Lewis told Diamond.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said the DOE is simply giving guidance to the test developers.

"So we're not an outlier in being politically correct. This is just making sure that test makers are sensitive in the development of their tests," Walcott said Monday.

To which Fliegal responded: "It's all of life! I don't know how they figure out what not to put on the list. Every aspect of life is on the list."

There are banned words currently in school districts nationwide. Walcott said New York City's list is longer because its student body is so diverse.



Here is the complete list of words that could be banned:

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)
Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs
Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)
Bodily functions
Cancer (and other diseases)
Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)
Celebrities
Children dealing with serious issues
Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)
Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)
Crime
Death and disease
Divorce
Evolution
Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes
Gambling involving money
Halloween
Homelessness
Homes with swimming pools
Hunting
Junk food
In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge
Loss of employment
Nuclear weapons
Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)
Parapsychology
Politics
Pornography
Poverty
Rap Music
Religion
Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)
Rock-and-Roll music
Running away
Sex
Slavery
Terrorism
Television and video games (excessive use)
Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)
Vermin (rats and roaches)
Violence
War and bloodshed
Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)
Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

The Brain

#1
March 28, 2012, 01:49:40 PM
America sucks.

Edit: Nuclear weapons?? WTF
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Syt

#2
March 28, 2012, 01:53:07 PM
Also, the article is pretty shoddy. Looking closer it looks like topics are planned to be banned (e.g. evolution), not "words" (dinosaurs).
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

DGuller

#3
March 28, 2012, 02:32:17 PM
What do schools have against pornography?  :rolleyes:

HVC

#4
March 28, 2012, 02:35:41 PM
"Homes with swimming pools" :lol:
Being lazy is bad; unless you still get what you want, then it's called "patience".
Hubris must be punished. Severely.

derspiess

#5
March 28, 2012, 03:04:30 PM
Quote from: HVC on March 28, 2012, 02:35:41 PM
"Homes with swimming pools" :lol:

Awesome.  Wonder if that even applies to above the ground pools.

There are some things on the list that make sense to exclude from tests, but those are the ones I couldn't imagine being used in the first place.  So I guess I would say the whole ban is stupid and unnecessary.
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

CountDeMoney

#6
March 28, 2012, 03:05:32 PM
Quote from: derspiess on March 28, 2012, 03:04:30 PM
Quote from: HVC on March 28, 2012, 02:35:41 PM
"Homes with swimming pools" :lol:

Awesome.  Wonder if that even applies to above the ground pools.

No, because that's just trashy, and therefore rather accessible by the mouthbreathers.

HVC

#7
March 28, 2012, 03:16:30 PM
Quote from: derspiess on March 28, 2012, 03:04:30 PM
Quote from: HVC on March 28, 2012, 02:35:41 PM
"Homes with swimming pools" :lol:

Awesome.  Wonder if that even applies to above the ground pools.

There are some things on the list that make sense to exclude from tests, but those are the ones I couldn't imagine being used in the first place.  So I guess I would say the whole ban is stupid and unnecessary.
families should be off too. won't anyone think of the poor orphans?
Being lazy is bad; unless you still get what you want, then it's called "patience".
Hubris must be punished. Severely.

Viking

#8
March 28, 2012, 03:19:39 PM
Isn't this to avoid questions like this on the tests?

"There are five niggers living at Jimmy's house. The KKK shows up and lynches two of the niggers. How many niggers are left living at Jimmy's house."

(acceptible answers include "too many" and "none, niggers be runnin'")
First Maxim - "There are only two amounts, too few and enough."
First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

Admiral Yi

#9
March 28, 2012, 03:33:23 PM
Quote from: Viking on March 28, 2012, 03:19:39 PM
Isn't this to avoid questions like this on the tests?

"There are five niggers living at Jimmy's house. The KKK shows up and lynches two of the niggers. How many niggers are left living at Jimmy's house."

(acceptible answers include "too many" and "none, niggers be runnin'")

No.

Viking

#11
March 28, 2012, 04:47:07 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on March 28, 2012, 03:33:23 PM
Quote from: Viking on March 28, 2012, 03:19:39 PM
Isn't this to avoid questions like this on the tests?

"There are five niggers living at Jimmy's house. The KKK shows up and lynches two of the niggers. How many niggers are left living at Jimmy's house."

(acceptible answers include "too many" and "none, niggers be runnin'")

No.

I checked the list, you are right. Apparently "ect." needs banning but "nigger" "KKK" and "lynching" do not.
First Maxim - "There are only two amounts, too few and enough."
First Corollary - "You cannot have too many soldiers, only too few supplies."
Second Maxim - "Be willing to exchange a bad idea for a good one."
Second Corollary - "You can only be wrong or agree with me."

A terrorist which starts a slaughter quoting Locke, Burke and Mill has completely missed the point.
The fact remains that the only person or group to applaud the Norway massacre are random Islamists.

dps

#12
March 28, 2012, 05:21:00 PM
Quote from: Viking on March 28, 2012, 04:47:07 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on March 28, 2012, 03:33:23 PM
Quote from: Viking on March 28, 2012, 03:19:39 PM
Isn't this to avoid questions like this on the tests?

"There are five niggers living at Jimmy's house. The KKK shows up and lynches two of the niggers. How many niggers are left living at Jimmy's house."

(acceptible answers include "too many" and "none, niggers be runnin'")

No.

I checked the list, you are right. Apparently "ect." needs banning but "nigger" "KKK" and "lynching" do not.

Speaking of needing banning...

Habbaku

#13
March 28, 2012, 05:27:03 PM
I would agree those latter three don't need banning, as they at least imply something.  "Ect." is just another, stupid Vikingism, similar to "acceptible."
The medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop. Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers.

Government is an abstract noun meaning the art and process of governing and it should be an offence to write it with a capital G or so as to refer to people.
-J. R. R. Tolkien

jimmy olsen

#14
March 28, 2012, 06:34:32 PM
Board up the department and then burn it to the ground and salt the earth, it's the only way to be sure.
It is far better for the truth to tear my flesh to pieces, then for my soul to wander through darkness in eternal damnation.

Jet: So what kind of woman is she? What's Julia like?
Faye: Ordinary. The kind of beautiful, dangerous ordinary that you just can't leave alone.
Jet: I see.
Faye: Like an angel from the underworld. Or a devil from Paradise.
--------------------------------------------
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