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Kanluwen wrote:It's also what happens when people don't read the news article and realize that it's not banning classroom discussion, but rather "banning" them (by asking the companies producing the tests) from tests on the grounds that they are commonly recognizable words.
So when preparing for a test on geology, what words do you use for "Dinosaur" that will not be appearing on that test?
Banning words on tests means that those words will be removed from the teaching materials used to prepared for those tests. Thus they will then be removed from the discussion in the classroom.
Then the class will not be allowed to take a field trip to the Natural History Museum be cause one of their biggest attractions is the creatures formerly known as Dinosaurs.
Now do you see how this could be a "Bad Thing"?
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Kanluwen wrote:It's also what happens when people don't read the news article and realize that it's not banning classroom discussion, but rather "banning" them (by asking the companies producing the tests) from tests on the grounds that they are commonly recognizable words.
So when preparing for a test on geology, what words do you use for "Dinosaur" that will not be appearing on that test?
Banning words on tests means that those words will be removed from the teaching materials used to prepared for those tests. Thus they will then be removed from the discussion in the classroom.
Then the class will not be allowed to take a field trip to the Natural History Museum be cause one of their biggest attractions is the creatures formerly known as Dinosaurs.
Now do you see how this could be a "Bad Thing"?
The reason it's not a "Bad Thing" is that the ban is explicitly for English and Math exams, not Geology exams.
The request for proposal is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
It does, indeed, say that.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/03/29 16:58:38
The request for proposal is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
It does, indeed, say that.
You stated it was only Math and English, but it isn't just Math and English. It says right up front that the word list was submitted for standardized tests, which cover more than just those two subjects. Or at least they used to.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
The request for proposal is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
It does, indeed, say that.
You stated it was only Math and English, but it isn't just Math and English. It says right up front that the word list was submitted for standardized tests, which cover more than just those two subjects. Or at least they used to.
The request for proposal is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
That's pretty explicitly only Math and English. The proposal is the "banned words" in question; which is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
Kanluwen wrote:That's pretty explicitly only Math and English. The proposal is the "banned words" in question; which is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
Quoting the same thing twice one post right after another makes me wonder if you are having memory issues or if you think repitition adds weight. It also says this:
These 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.
If I say I'm going to a fruit stand to get a lot of fruit, but then later state I can't wait to get apples and oranges that doesn't mean I'm only going to get apples and oranges, just that those are worth mentioning. I can still also get grapes and a pineapple as well. It seems silly to ban the word Dinosaur from an English portion of a standardized test but to leave it in for the Science section of a standardized test.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
In its request for proposal, the NYC Department of Education explained it wanted to avoid certain words if the "the topic is controversial among the adult population and might not be acceptable in a state-mandated testing situation; the topic has been overused in standardized tests or textbooks and is thus overly familiar and/or boring to students; the topic appears biased against (or toward) some group of people."
There's certainly potential they're just covering their butts on this, but the first thing that comes to mind when seeing the majority of these words isn't that they're "controversial" but "the topic has been overused in standardized tests or textbooks and is thus overly familiar and/or boring to students".
Dinosaurs are only 'controversial' if you are a moron. How can dinosaurs be 'boring'? And how can you have 'too much dinosaurs'? You cannot have too many dinosaurs, ever.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2012/03/29 17:24:17
Kanluwen wrote:That's pretty explicitly only Math and English. The proposal is the "banned words" in question; which is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.
Quoting the same thing twice one post right after another makes me wonder if you are having memory issues or if you think repitition adds weight.
It was quoted because I think you missed the important bit within it.
It also says this:
These 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.
If I say I'm going to a fruit stand to get a lot of fruit, but then later state I can't wait to get apples and oranges that doesn't mean I'm only going to get apples and oranges, just that those are worth mentioning. I can still also get grapes and a pineapple as well. It seems silly to ban the word Dinosaur from an English portion of a standardized test but to leave it in for the Science section of a standardized test.
Since it purposely clarified that the proposal was sent to test publishers who were trying to get the job of revamping Math and English tests.
Could they be trying for Science and Geology test revamp jobs too? Sure. But since the proposal was sent to publishers who were trying to get the job of revamping Math and English tests, I don't think it's unreasonable to make the point that it only applies to Math and English tests.
I don't know how they did standardized tests for you, but here in NC we took each a standardized test for each individual class. Big ol' packet that was 100+ pages and would take two class sessions to do.
That said:
This "article" is a piece in CNN's "Religious Blog" section--which makes me think that it's purposely worded to make it look like a big ol' slap to the face of those who think that the Creationists are nutters and taking over the government.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/03/29 17:26:08
Da Boss wrote:God I hate my fellow educationalists sometimes.
Educationalists? I thought the word was "educators".
Wait its not "learning facilitators"? I'm scared. Hold me!
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
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-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
That was my first thought, but I was scared I'd offend someone if I used that word.
Newspeak was a set of created words, not just words left out of a test. If they added made up words then it would be more along those lines: chocorat, ingsoc, and teledep are examples of newspeak. It was really a bunch of portmanteaus for the most part.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
That was my first thought, but I was scared I'd offend someone if I used that word.
Newspeak was a set of created words, not just words left out of a test. If they added made up words then it would be more along those lines: chocorat, ingsoc, and teledep are examples of newspeak. It was really a bunch of portmanteaus for the most part.
Actually, the purpose of Newspeak was to diminish the English language to the point that only Party-approved meanings could be conveyed. The idea was that if you have no words to convey unorthodox thoughts, you could not think such unorthodox thoughts.
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That was my first thought, but I was scared I'd offend someone if I used that word.
Newspeak was a set of created words, not just words left out of a test. If they added made up words then it would be more along those lines: chocorat, ingsoc, and teledep are examples of newspeak. It was really a bunch of portmanteaus for the most part.
Actually, the purpose of Newspeak was to diminish the English language to the point that only Party-approved meanings could be conveyed. The idea was that if you have no words to convey unorthodox thoughts, you could not think such unorthodox thoughts.
The purpose isn't in question, but the implementation. Just removing some words from a states standardized tests to avoid offending some people isn't enough to qualify. If they were removing words and adding in new words meant to control the language, and on a much broader scale than just one states public school, then the argument for newspeak would be more appropriate. Newspeak isn't simply censorship.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
So "cheese eating surrender monkey" still is ok though right? We have to have priorities here.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
Howard A Treesong wrote:Dinosaurs are only 'controversial' if you are a moron. How can dinosaurs be 'boring'? And how can you have 'too much dinosaurs'? You cannot have too many dinosaurs, ever.
That was my first thought, but I was scared I'd offend someone if I used that word.
Newspeak was a set of created words, not just words left out of a test. If they added made up words then it would be more along those lines: chocorat, ingsoc, and teledep are examples of newspeak. It was really a bunch of portmanteaus for the most part.
I was in a biology class at a university where a girl did not believe in a dinosaurs. I really didn't understand how that was possible, how do you not believe in something like that?
Apparently dinosaurs fossils were placed around the earth by the devil to confuse man on the "real" age of earth and misguide them to Satanism.
Piston Honda wrote:I was in a biology class at a university where a girl did not believe in a dinosaurs. I really didn't understand how that was possible, how do you not believe in something like that?
Apparently dinosaurs fossils were placed around the earth by the devil to confuse man on the "real" age of earth and misguide them to Satanism.
You heard that right
Dr. Alan Grant is a devil worshiper.
The only logic to that is depiction of dinosaurs (they used the word dragon) have appeared throughout history and art. A story is one thing, but how could an artist draw something real that "didn't exist" in his time.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/03/30 02:15:53
Piston Honda wrote:I was in a biology class at a university where a girl did not believe in a dinosaurs. I really didn't understand how that was possible, how do you not believe in something like that?
Apparently dinosaurs fossils were placed around the earth by the devil to confuse man on the "real" age of earth and misguide them to Satanism.
You heard that right
Dr. Alan Grant is a devil worshiper.
Wait what?
Im pretty sure not believing in evolution at university level biology pretty much means you have no braind.
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