• Twitter
  • Facebook
News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Let's be sensitive

Ah, the world we live in:

In a bizarre case of political correctness run wild, educrats have banned references to “dinosaurs,” “birthdays,” “Halloween” and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests.

That’s because they fear such topics “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.”

Dinosaurs, for example, call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists; birthdays aren’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses; and Halloween suggests paganism.

Even “dancing’’ is taboo, because some sects object. But the city did make an exception for ballet.

[. . .]

Words that suggest wealth are excluded because they could make kids jealous. Poverty is likewise on the forbidden list.

Also banned are references to divorces and diseases, because kids taking the tests may have relatives who split from spouses or are ill.

[. . .]

Homes with swimming pools and computers are also unmentionables here — because of economic sensitivities — while computers in the school or in libraries are acceptable.

City officials also specified that test makers shouldn’t include items that are potentially “disrespectful to authority or authority figures,” or give human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects.

Terrorism is deemed too scary. Slavery is also on the forbidden list.

The story is about New York City, which doesn't have a monopoly on such touchy-feely nonsense, but does seem to take it about as far as it can go. Those who push the self-esteem agenda seemed determined to destroy students' ability to think critically about serious subjects. Heaven forbid they should ever feel bad about anything.

Comments

Tim Zank
Tue, 03/27/2012 - 9:40am

The students can't add, subtract, multiply, spell or form a coherent sentence but by golly they feel good about themselves! If only the schools had more money available.....

 

 

Christopher Swing
Tue, 03/27/2012 - 11:33am

Horrible leadership is horrible leadership regardless of the amount of money available.

littlejohn
Tue, 03/27/2012 - 12:24pm

I think they should be allowed to mention dinosaurs as long as they display Ken Ham's model of Noah's Ark with special accommodations for the dinosaurs. Everyone knows Jesus rode a T Rex.

RAG
Tue, 03/27/2012 - 12:57pm

Times have changed.

A big fear a while back was the word oral.  Mostly when used with 'book report'.

Quantcast