SPEW ALERT!This story has arrived just in time for April Fool's Day: War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests. We are devolving!
The above article has garnered several comments. One sample:
LaurieLou
No wonder my college freshmen are so ignorant. The School System ™ is too obsessed with this kind of crap instead of, you know, actually **TEACHING** them anything useful — like how to study, or how to synthesize information!
March 26, 2012 at 9:54 pm
What do I have to say to it?
ReplyDeleteTHERE ARE NO WORDS ... ;-)
Insanity is rife. It's as though all of society had developed a rapidly metastasizing cancer of the mind.
We probably won't be allowed to refer to DADAISM anymore -- which is what this IS brought from the world of "Art" to that of "Education" -- because "Dada" leaves "Mama" out and is, therefore, an outmoded SEXIST, PATERNALISTIC, MALE-CHAUVINIST concept designed to keep women chained in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.
Western Civilization will not die in a nuclear holocaust, it will perish from politically-induced idiocy.
And I ain't foolin.'
~ FreeThinke
FT,
ReplyDeleteEver since I read this story last week, I have been all ramped up about it, alternately seething and breaking into derisive laughter.
We discussed this story in a few of my homeschool classes. You should have seen my students' faces! They were incredulous, then broke into laughter. One student -- a junior, I think -- said something like "How can we discuss anything if they take away the words?"
I so agree with these words you typed in:
It's as though all of society had developed a rapidly metastasizing cancer of the mind.
Do they explode if they were to use one these words in a sentence let alone read it.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much of this stupid stuff going on, we don't have time to give each instance the proper outrage it deserves AOW.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
When we are ruled by nanny state liberals, every day is April Fool's Day.
ReplyDeleteNot absurd at all. Since we place so much emphasis n testing it makes perfect sense t want the language to be as neutral as possible.
ReplyDeleteGet a grip and use your head once in a while.
Hi AOW.
ReplyDelete"Only the educated are free", Just like his buddy erdogan he's creating a youth that is 'easy' to manipulate and vote.
I have a few words I'd like to offer the NYC Dept, of Education ... but I can't post them here due to obscenity laws.
ReplyDeleteSpot on, Ducky. Wingnuts can't make up their minds as to whether they want students to learn by only testing or through the so called 'liberal indoctrination' they get in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt figures that Duck and Liberalmann would agree on their deprecation of this post.
ReplyDeleteAnd on April Fool's Day, too. LOL!
As the title of the post says, "Absurdity Abounds!"
Perfect April Fools day prank... oh wait, this is real. ...
ReplyDeleteI know I say this every other post, but 1984! Eliminating words to be used on tests... yaya, great idea. And what will happen when these kids hit the real world? Oh, I guess we should just ban them there to, or outlaw the practices, wouldn't want to offend the unnamed masses, the people don't matter. Sheesh! A few made SOME sense, if they were elementary school student! But high schoolers? Don't kid yourself, unless they are highly sheltered or ignorant (in which case they need to learn- isn;t that the idea behind sex Ed?) they will have heard about this before.
Worst one was this: "Traumatic material"
Hello, but everything is traumatic to SOMEONE. I personally can't listen to P!nk (singer) because of a traumatic experience. Gonna ban her? The point being, this has no point besides censorship. You can't please everyone, its impossible.
Though there need be some boundaries... but the common sense to set them is non-existent. So whatcha do? This list is clearly absurd though- several subjects are quite common- and isn't a help to the students in the slightest.
-Wildstar
Words that I DEMAND be banned:
ReplyDeleteSacrilege
Silicified
Sasquatch
Flatulence
Fubar
Hammertone
Disinclination
Parturation
Fulminate
Closure
Opensure
Notsure
Hyperventilation
Hypertrophy
Heismann Trophy
Atrophy
And any word that starts with Zr. These choices should put me right at the head of the table of these brilliant people. Fame, here I come.
What a sad day our society has come to.
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic example of liberalism. If it wasn't so tragic that Americans actually think like this, it would be one of the best April Fool gags ever.
ReplyDeleteThe only word I'd like to see banned is AWESOME when used as a term of approbation.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to cleans the language of extraneous prepositions as "It's not that big of a deal."
The "OF" does NOT - NOT - NOT belong in that sentence.
Also,please try not to say, "I like that the kitchen has granite countertops," or "I like that the house is near the school."
Just say, "I like those granite countertops in the kitchen," or Living so close to the school will be a great convenience.
"I like that the ..." is a HIDEOUS example of bad syntax.
There are dozens of other terrible examples of bad usage that have crept into the language. Aren't you glad I can't think of any more of them right now? ;-)
~ FreeThinke
Its banning words like burning books? Just saying smells like fascism to me.
ReplyDeleteI find it odd that just because Bush Jr signed no child left behind that I must defend and be in favor of it.
I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of the Democrat created and sponsored bill. Bush signed it so that makes it his. No doubt he was trying to reach across the aisle as it were and the result was more chaos in an already failing experiment.
Like many Conservatives, I am in favor of measuring results. I am tired of progressives slipping in their beliefs into the questions. However, banning words is not the answer.
I will get back to this but I believe we are required as homeschool parents to test at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. You may laugh that I do not know but somehow we manage to teach without worry or concern about these year end tests.
Can't use any of the 50 words, but George Carlin's 7 Dirty Words are perfectly acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIs any besides Yours Truly aware that "Native-American," African-American," "Ms," "Beijing," "Myanmar," and "Mumbai," are all part of the same pattern?
ReplyDeleteSo is the aggressive move in the media to pronounce place names with the exact accent of the native inhabitant. Thus we have "nuh-VADD-uh," "Muh-ZURR-uh, "Cul-luh-RADDO," and "LOWvull." That last was Louisville, in case you didn't reognize it.
There's even a move among the "ignoranti" to refer to "Green Witch Village."
Spreading and glorifying ignorance and confusion in as many places possible is a hallmark of the Left. So is their aim always to bring everything down as LOW as possible.
It's all part of the Gathering Storm that's been looking on the horizon since people my age were little kids -- and even before.
Try to resist the glorification of Ignorance and Aggressive Stupidity -- and the move make CHANGES just for the sake of making CHANGES in the Left's relentless drive to keep everyone off balance, and therefore, defenseless.
~ FreeThinke
Right Wing Theocrat,
ReplyDeleteI assure you that this proposal to change the standardized tests is no a joke.
Wildstar,
ReplyDeleteWorst one was this: "Traumatic material"
Hello, but everything is traumatic to SOMEONE.
Of course! There is no way to avoid offending someone in the millions who take standardized tests.
You know, life is filled with traumatic experiences. We do learn from them -- if we can get past the anger and the hurt.
FT,
ReplyDeleteIs any besides Yours Truly aware that "Native-American," African-American," "Ms," "Beijing," "Myanmar," and "Mumbai," are all part of the same pattern?
Well, I am.
However, to keep my job, I have to use "new" words and euphemisms. And I have a job in which I can get by with a lot of political incorrectness.
I admit right now that I am getting weary of the nonsense. It is dangerous nonsense.
We have lost honesty with all this "remaking" of our language.
Pretty soon, we won't be able to open our mouths without spouting "the new language." Sheesh.
We live in an Orwellian world. Within a decade or two, when we dinosaurs are gone, what will America have become? Makes me glad that I'm as old as I am!