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Title: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: dead0man on March 29, 2012, 01:07:44 AM link (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/war-on-words-nyc-dept-of-education-wants-50-forbidden-words-removed-from-standardized-tests/)
Quote Fearing that certain words and topics can make students feel unpleasant, officials are requesting 50 or so words be removed from city-issued tests. NYC Department of Education.....between this and $65million a year "rubber room" (which is also an offensive phrase) fiasco, the ridiculously overpowered teachers unions and I'm sure a million other horrible stories we probably don't know about....how do they manage to teach anything?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. <snip> Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Negusa Nagast 🚀 on March 29, 2012, 01:09:10 AM Censorship is bad, mmmk.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Хahar 🤔 on March 29, 2012, 01:35:33 AM It certainly makes sense that tests should be designed to be accessible to everyone.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: dead0man on March 29, 2012, 01:39:26 AM How does the word "dancing" make a test inaccessible?
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on March 29, 2012, 01:53:39 AM Few if any of these words make a test 'inaccessible'. I can see arguments for things that involve specific religions but 'Halloween'? 'Dinosaur'? These are some of the most generic cultural terms imaginable.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: ○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└ on March 29, 2012, 01:55:27 AM Birthday? Fail.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Grumpier Than Thou on March 29, 2012, 05:25:49 AM This is the most idiotic thing I've seen in a long time.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Pingvin on March 29, 2012, 07:44:40 AM This is the most idiotic thing I've seen in a long time. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Pingvin on March 29, 2012, 07:45:32 AM It certainly makes sense that tests should be designed to be accessible to everyone. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese on March 29, 2012, 07:51:24 AM Between this and the "Friends don't let friends use pink bowling balls" I'm starting to wonder if April 1 came a few days early this year.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on March 29, 2012, 07:57:39 AM It certainly makes sense that tests should be designed to be accessible to everyone. What majority? There are different interlocking 'majorities' and 'minorities' in any situation, ever. Also, no that doesn't make sense. Also, that doesn't make this particular case any less absurd. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: memphis on March 29, 2012, 09:06:38 AM These words are already banned from big standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. The NYC proposal is only about testing.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: dead0man on March 29, 2012, 09:13:43 AM These words are already banned from big standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Redalgo on March 29, 2012, 10:13:23 AM This is the most idiotic thing I've seen in a long time. Agreed, though I reckon to some extent it would make sense to diversify test questions as part of a larger effort to foster a learning environment in which minority groups are included, not marginalized. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on March 29, 2012, 10:26:04 AM The word "dinosaur" does not suggest evolution. As most things like this, they didn't talk to people from the groups that they thought might be offended. Not mentioning divorce is probably sensible.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Insula Dei on March 29, 2012, 10:31:27 AM The word "dinosaur" does not suggest evolution. As most things like this, they didn't talk to people from the groups that they thought might be offended. Not mentioning divorce is probably sensible. You're a creationist? Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on March 29, 2012, 10:54:36 AM The word "dinosaur" does not suggest evolution. As most things like this, they didn't talk to people from the groups that they thought might be offended. Not mentioning divorce is probably sensible. You're a creationist? Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: dead0man on March 29, 2012, 11:11:20 AM The word "dinosaur" does not suggest evolution. As most things like this, they didn't talk to people from the groups that they thought might be offended. Not mentioning divorce is probably sensible. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on March 29, 2012, 11:29:05 AM The word "dinosaur" does not suggest evolution. As most things like this, they didn't talk to people from the groups that they thought might be offended. Not mentioning divorce is probably sensible. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: John Dibble on March 29, 2012, 12:55:50 PM I wonder exactly how they think taking the word "evolution" out of standardized biology tests will be helpful.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Snowstalker Mk. II on March 29, 2012, 02:09:01 PM Also, how would a health class do without mentioning alcohol or drugs? A US History class without nukes?
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Small Business Owner of Any Repute on March 29, 2012, 03:39:48 PM As someone who used to work for the text book industry, these banned word lists are much more common than you'd think. Though, of course, this list is unusually oppressive.
Want to hear how stupid it gets some time? A number of state standards call for students to learn probability so they can understand how to avoid unfair games of chance. But for some reason, you're not allowed to use games of chance while teaching students about probability, and in many cases, you can't even reference dice or playing cards. Also, how would a health class do without mentioning alcohol or drugs? A US History class without nukes? These topics are off limits for standardized tests, not general discussion. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Grumpier Than Thou on March 29, 2012, 03:52:26 PM Also, how would a health class do without mentioning alcohol or drugs? A US History class without nukes? An algebra class without x's and y's? Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Bacon King on March 29, 2012, 04:04:04 PM While they obviously erred on the side of caution, I understand the reasoning here and don't think this is as outrageous as it first appears. Any word that has a realistic potential of causing a negative emotional response in a child can cause them to perform below their true ability, thus impacting their results and causing them to score lower than they would have. A little girl that just broke her legs would probably be distraught when remembering her new limitations after reading a test passage about dancing, for example, and a negative emotional state like that has been linked in a number of studies to poorer performance on standardized tests. They're simply going to these lengths here to ensure that the tests truly are fair and standardized for all students; I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
Want to hear how stupid it gets some time? A number of state standards call for students to learn probability so they can understand how to avoid unfair games of chance. But for some reason, you're not allowed to use games of chance while teaching students about probability, and in many cases, you can't even reference dice or playing cards. Oh yes! I remember how much fun we had with our number cubes (which totally weren't dice) in middle school math! Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: SteveRogers on March 29, 2012, 06:28:25 PM I'm confused about "dinosaur." As far as I know, even among the most hardcore creationists, there aren't many people who outright deny that dinosaurs are a thing.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Redalgo on March 29, 2012, 07:27:25 PM Ya, the dinosaur thing confused me as well. The last creationist I spoke with thought that human beings and dinosaurs lived side by side and any compelling evidence contrary to the story provided in the Bible is a cover-up by the "scientific establishment," God testing our faith, or some form of mischief on the part of Satan as he tries to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of believers. I don't really know what most creationists tend to argue though.
Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Jacobtm on March 29, 2012, 08:09:08 PM Many Americans do believe Dinosaurs are completely made up.
I would be interested to see a poll Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Хahar 🤔 on March 29, 2012, 08:16:33 PM These words are already banned from big standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. It's not entirely the same thing, but there is the famous oarsmen-regatta example. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Bacon King on March 29, 2012, 08:50:35 PM These words are already banned from big standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. This page was the first result for 'SAT forbidden words' (http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/words-forbidden-on-sat-questions-quote-of-the-day-from-crazy-u/) :P Quote “The term ‘hearing impaired,’ to describe people whose hearing is impaired, is discouraged in favor of ‘deaf and hard of hearing.’ Test writers must steer clear of the words ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal.’ ‘Hispanic’ should not be used as a noun, and neither should ‘blind’; ‘black’ can be used only as an adjective. ‘Penthouse,’ ‘polo’ and other ‘words generally associated with wealthier social classes’ are likewise off-limits; ‘regatta,’ too, needless to say, along with any mention of luxuries or pricey financial instruments like junk bonds. ‘Elderly’ is to be avoided in describing people who are elderly. ‘America’ can’t be used to describe the United States.” Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: dead0man on March 29, 2012, 11:39:26 PM Some of those make perfect sense, there is no reason to expect every 9 year old (or hell, 15 year old) to know what a "regatta" is. That kind of word shouldn't be on a test. But "elderly" should be avoided when talking about the elderly? How is "deaf and hard of hearing" better than "hearing impared"? It don't make no sense to me.
Just to be clear, on the scale of 1-100 on the "outrage" meter, this scores about a 11. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: Bacon King on March 29, 2012, 11:56:32 PM Some of those make perfect sense, there is no reason to expect every 9 year old (or hell, 15 year old) to know what a "regatta" is. That kind of word shouldn't be on a test. But "elderly" should be avoided when talking about the elderly? How is "deaf and hard of hearing" better than "hearing impared"? It don't make no sense to me. Just to be clear, on the scale of 1-100 on the "outrage" meter, this scores about a 11. Just the College Board being politically correct, of course. Title: Re: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on March 30, 2012, 12:06:54 AM Deaf people tend to respond negatively to the idea of 'impairment', since they often don't perceive being deaf as a bad thing.
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