War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

CBS New York ^ | March 26, 2012 | CBS New York

[Kip Russell]

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.

[Kip Russell]

An article from last year, but still illustrative of the idiocy of being politically incorrect. Good luck writing a history test that bans all of the above...!

[afraidfortherepublic]

NYC has gone mad.

[thackney]

Are the going to ban “productive” and “worthwhile” to avoid offending many government workers?

[tgusa]

This just reenforces why I turned down those jobs in NYC.

[Altura Ct.]

Walcott said New York City’s list is longer because its student body is so diverse

All hail multiculturalism!

[Olog-hai]

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution …

Wow; that is a bald-faced lie, Richard Owen notwithstanding.

[Maine Mariner]

It is a manifestation of the growth of government
bureaucracy. As a bureaucracy grows the bureaucrats need to put forth more regulations to justify their positions.
So they begin to look for just about anything to regulate, set standards for and so forth.

[hal ogen]

I just hope they don’t ban “asshat”, “imbecile” or “moonbat”; however, that still leaves “fool”, “pinhead”, “idiot” and “intellectual degenerate”.

[stremba]

My irony meter is going off the charts here. The schools are preparing kids for dealing with a world in which there is a wide diversity of people and situations by ... sheltering them from anything that might offend them or be different from their own experiences. Wow, just wow.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I do not believe for one second that the words “dinosaur,” “Halloween” and “dancing” are on the list to avoid offending Christian sensibilities. It is a qualification to work in the education establishment, especially in the Northeast, to go out of your way to offend Christians and to “stand up” to any hint that Christians don’t want something being taught, as if the scenes from Hollywood movies where teaching “The Catcher in the Rye” resulted in an angry mob of fussy old church ladies being led by a sanctimonious, dogmatic reverend appearing in the school lobby.

[MinuteGal]

Our nation's kids are being so over-protected from the dangers, ills and realities of life that by the time they're adults they're going to be formless globules of clear jelly without spines or brains.

From no more dodge ball to no-balls-at-all in one decade.

Leni

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I hear there’s a second list of words and phrases that are absolutely forbidden to be taught to kids in public schools:

1. “Cut spending”

2. “Standardized testing”

3. “Retire at age 66”

4. “Administrative redundancy”

[a fool in paradise]

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like

Phony argument. It neither promotes evolution nor denies God as Creator. I suspect this was added to make Christians look "kooky".

Dinosaurs existed. More extinct species. Some of the diagrams of dinosaurs are complete conjecture. But the notion of A dinosaur is not "evidence of evolution".

[Buckeye McFrog]

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.

Why, seems like just yesterday they were pressing to ban the word "pirouette" from the SAT's for being "racist" (black people far too STOOOOOOPID to ever know what that word means according to our Liberal overlords)

[IronJack]

The New York City Department of Education isn’t doing this. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is doing this. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is doing this because Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott is a cowardly PC bureaucrat. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott should be the target of peoples’ ire if they agree that this idiotic brainwashing is a waste of taxpayer effort.

[a fool in paradise]

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.

Kids who spend all day watching thuggish rappers "rollin'" in their Mercedes and Bentleys on MTV and BET?

They are gonna be offended because they don't have a Mercedes yet?

How about it becoming an incentive for them to work hard and earn some big money to spend on things they want?

[The Great RJ]

I was surprised that the words pig, swine, hog, bacon, ham, pork chops, BBQ ribs, pork sausage and any mention of the Iowa Pork Producers aren’t banned because we all know who would be offended by that.

[Common Sense 101]

I noticed the words “libtard” and “stupidity” were not excluded. Odd.

[ctdonath2]

Many I can understand (not agree with; understanding does not equate to approval) but...”Computers in the home”??? WTF?

[Redmen4ever]

I guess the following exam question is out:

A 14-year old child is shot dead during a home invasion. If his mother has two surviving children under the age of 18, how much is her EBT cut?

(a) yo moma
(b) $50 per month
(c) I don’t do cursive
(d) you tell me