Dinosaurs, Divorces, and Birthdays, Oh My!

New York City public schools are playing a word association game. It's called state-mandated testing, and the goal is censorship. According to an article by Brian Vitagliano from CNN, "divorce. Dinosaurs, Birthdays. Religion. Halloween. Christmas. Television. . . are a few of the 50-plus words and references the New York City Department of Education is hoping to ban from the city’s standardized tests." The department argues that words like "divorce" could trigger unpleasant thoughts in children whose parents are divorced or in the process. Reasonable? Maybe, I see why kids could be made uncomfortable by references to issues that are prevalent at home.
However, the department also argues against the use of other words. "Dinosaur" and "Birthday" being two of the most interesting choices. "The New York Post speculated that the "dinosaurs" could "call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists.” Really? I have a hard time believing a reference to the terrible lizards of old would upset anyone that dramatically. And "Birthday" certainly warrants some sort of explanation. The department of Ed. argues that "the use of the word "birthday" or the phrase "birthday celebrations" may offend Jehovah's Witnesses, who do not celebrate birthdays. A spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses declined to comment on the use of the word "birthday." Now we're just getting ridiculous. I have trouble coming up with a scenario in which even the most uptight kid (and these are just kids taking the tests) reading into the word "birthday" enough to throw their test.
While censorship is nothing new to the world of standardized testing, NY's department of Education is taking the measures much too far. Any further restrictions and soon there will be nothing left to test them with! Eliminating references to food, culture, religion, family, holidays, and life events is not the way to educate the nation's youth, nor is it a way to evaluate them. In fact, it is a way to limit their potential. Students who are not exposed to subjects that are foreign or uncomfortable will never learn how to deal with them properly and discuss them in a civilized manner. The NewYork Department of Education is doing their students a disservice, one word at a time.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/28/new-york-city-schools-ban-loaded-words-from-tests/