As an outspoken person with strong opinions, I fully embrace the freedom of speech as secured in the First Amendment. I like being able to speak my mind, and I believe we are lucky to live in a country where you can say what’s on your mind (barring harsh obscenities, disruptive speech in schools, etc.). But for some reason, we as a country have fled to the other side: we are now so afraid of offending someone or a particular group, that we censor ourselves and hide our opinions behind the veil of “political correctness”. The most recent city to take cover is, ironically, one of the most outspoken cities in the country: New York.
According to CBSNew York, the city’s education department wants to have certain words permanently removed from standardized tests because they could potentially make some students “uncomfortable”. Department officials want to eliminate words such as dinosaur (because it suggests evolution, which would offend creationists), divorce (to be considerate towards those students from broken homes), and birthday (because Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays). Not to go off on a tangent, but if officials knew what they were talking about, they’d know that creationists don’t dispute the presence of dinosaurs and therefore have no reason to be offended by the word. For a full list of the proposed banned words, click here.
I sincerely wish this was a joke.
I am all for being sensitive to a person’s personal beliefs. But I wouldn’t be nearly as sensitive as I am if I never had the opportunity to learn about different beliefs in the first place. Besides, the only ones worried about people getting offended are the officials themselves. One mother, whose family celebrates both Christmas and Kwanzaa, says that she wants her children to learn and appreciate other holidays and religions. “They’re going to meet people from all walks of life and they’re going to have to learn to adjust,” she says. One student adds, “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.” New York Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott defends the move to ban some of the most inane and commonly used words in the English language, maintaining that the city simply wants to ”[make] sure that test makers are sensitive in the development of their tests.” To which Sy Fliegal with the Center for Educational Innovation – who calls this whole thing “ridiculous” – replies, “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 [of banned words].”
Are people legitimately offended by words that are part of our daily vernacular? The students, the ones who are actually being tested, apparently aren’t. Are school officials that out of touch with their constituents that they think the word “dancing” would offend anyone? (And if there is someone out there who finds the word “dancing” or “vermin” offensive, do the rest of us a favor and get over yourself already.) I sincerely hope the New York Department of Education is able to educate itself on what the parents, and students really need, like more and better teachers, better pay for teachers, and more supplies. Although, if the department is hell-bent on banning a word or two, I’m sure students would be thrilled for a ban of “standardized tests”.
According to CBSNew York, the city’s education department wants to have certain words permanently removed from standardized tests because they could potentially make some students “uncomfortable”. Department officials want to eliminate words such as dinosaur (because it suggests evolution, which would offend creationists), divorce (to be considerate towards those students from broken homes), and birthday (because Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays). Not to go off on a tangent, but if officials knew what they were talking about, they’d know that creationists don’t dispute the presence of dinosaurs and therefore have no reason to be offended by the word. For a full list of the proposed banned words, click here.
I sincerely wish this was a joke.
I am all for being sensitive to a person’s personal beliefs. But I wouldn’t be nearly as sensitive as I am if I never had the opportunity to learn about different beliefs in the first place. Besides, the only ones worried about people getting offended are the officials themselves. One mother, whose family celebrates both Christmas and Kwanzaa, says that she wants her children to learn and appreciate other holidays and religions. “They’re going to meet people from all walks of life and they’re going to have to learn to adjust,” she says. One student adds, “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.” New York Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott defends the move to ban some of the most inane and commonly used words in the English language, maintaining that the city simply wants to ”[make] sure that test makers are sensitive in the development of their tests.” To which Sy Fliegal with the Center for Educational Innovation – who calls this whole thing “ridiculous” – replies, “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 [of banned words].”
Are people legitimately offended by words that are part of our daily vernacular? The students, the ones who are actually being tested, apparently aren’t. Are school officials that out of touch with their constituents that they think the word “dancing” would offend anyone? (And if there is someone out there who finds the word “dancing” or “vermin” offensive, do the rest of us a favor and get over yourself already.) I sincerely hope the New York Department of Education is able to educate itself on what the parents, and students really need, like more and better teachers, better pay for teachers, and more supplies. Although, if the department is hell-bent on banning a word or two, I’m sure students would be thrilled for a ban of “standardized tests”.