The NYC Dept of Education thinks it can make testing less tense for K-12 students by banning words it feels might upset them - nasty words like dinosaur, Halloween and birthday.
"Dinosaur" might remind creationists of evolution. So it goes without saying that "evolution" is out too, even though "creationism" survived the cut. Additionally, the DOE thinks mentioning "birthdays" is too disturbing for those who don't celebrate them, and of course we all know how scarey "Halloween" is.
Maybe NYC is overreacting to recent concerns over teachers using graphically violent or racist examples to teach math. But even though it might make sense to omit a few obviously upsetting words on tests, that's no excuse to declare an all-out war on words and on science as well.
At least with this new plan, NYC needn't worry anymore that "Johnny Can't Read," because there'll soon be few words left to learn.
Tell the NYC DOE to End Its War on Words and Science.
"Dinosaur" might remind creationists of evolution. So it goes without saying that "evolution" is out too, even though "creationism" survived the cut. Additionally, the DOE thinks mentioning "birthdays" is too disturbing for those who don't celebrate them, and of course we all know how scarey "Halloween" is.
Maybe NYC is overreacting to recent concerns over teachers using graphically violent or racist examples to teach math. But even though it might make sense to omit a few obviously upsetting words on tests, that's no excuse to declare an all-out war on words and on science as well.
At least with this new plan, NYC needn't worry anymore that "Johnny Can't Read," because there'll soon be few words left to learn.
Tell the NYC DOE to End Its War on Words and Science.
