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.

[JCBreckenridge]

Yawn. I have religion throughout my test. Bring it on Obama!

[billhilly]

One word they should definitely not leave off the list is “reeducation.”

[goldi]

Several years ago, the NY Board of Regents changed “The Old Man and the Sea” to the “Elderly Man and the Sea” on an exam.

[libstripper]

If they’re going to ban discussion of weapons, guns in particular, they might as well ban discussion of piston engines, both steam and internal combustion, because they function basically the me way guns do, with objects (bullets and pistons) bring moved by rapidly expanding gas. Indeed, early inventors of piston engines to the idea from how guns work.

[esoxmagnum]

We went to an auction this summer where we were hoping to find a nice muscle car (for me and my son). There were several Bentleys up for auction. Original price was well over 200k, but they were going for 75k or so. Most were 2010-2012 models, pimped out in weird ways.

Auto broker who was buying them told me that they are rapper cars. They get a record deal for 30k + royalties, and they think they are going to be millionaires. So they finance the cars, and a few months later when when the first payment of 12 grand comes in, and no royalties are coming in, they are forced to sell the cars.

He said the biggest problem with these cars, is that they sometimes have a lot of damage that must be dealt with, slashed seats, urine, and general hardcore vandalism. He explained that when the cars get repossessed often the owner and perhaps his posse go off the hook on them, so you had to be very careful to make sure you were not buying a car that was either repaired or damaged in such a way.

I asked him about Carfax, and he laughed. He said it was a useless service. You actually should bring a mechanic with you to the auction to check these cars out before bidding.

It was an interesting and enlightening conversation.

We never did get a muscle car. Maybe next year.

[Kip Russell]

Welcome to FR.

Thanks!