OK... this is just plain stupid.

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War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 'Forbidden' Words Banned From Standardized Tests ? CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — George Carlin is rolling over in his grave.

The New York City Department of Education is waging a war on words of sorts, and is seeking to have words they deem upsetting removed from standardized tests.

Fearing that certain words and topics can make students feel unpleasant, officials are requesting 50 or so words be removed from city-issued tests.

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Julie Lewis’ family celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa, but she told CBS 2′s Emily Smith she wants her children to appreciate and learn about other holidays and celebrations.

“They’re going to meet people from all walks of life and they’re going to have to learn to adjust,” Lewis said.

Words that suggest wealth are excluded because they could make kids jealous. “Poverty” is also on the forbidden list. That’s something Sy Fliegal with the Center for Educational Innovation calls ridiculous.

“The Petersons take a vacation for five days in their Mercedes … so what? You think our kids are going to be offended because they don’t have a Mercedes? You think our kids are going to say ‘I’m offended; how could they ask me a question about a Mercedes? I don’t have a Mercedes!’” Fliegal said.

In a throwback to “Footloose,” the word “dancing” is also taboo. However, there is good news for kids that like “ballet”: The city made an exception for this form of dance.

Also banned are references to “divorce” and “disease,” because kids taking the tests may have relatives who split from spouses or are ill.

Some students think banning these words from periodic assessment tests is ridiculous.

“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,” Curtis High School Sophomore Jamella Lewis told Diamond.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said the DOE is simply giving guidance to the test developers.

“So we’re not an outlier in being politically correct. This is just making sure that test makers are sensitive in the development of their tests,” Walcott said Monday.

To which Fliegal responded: “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.”

There are banned words currently in school districts nationwide. Walcott said New York City’s list is longer because its student body is so diverse.

Here is the complete list of words that could be banned:

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)

Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs

Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)

Bodily functions

Cancer (and other diseases)

Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)

Celebrities

Children dealing with serious issues

Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)

Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)

Crime

Death and disease

Divorce

Evolution

Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes

Gambling involving money

Halloween

Homelessness

Homes with swimming pools

Hunting

Junk food

In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge

Loss of employment

Nuclear weapons

Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)

Parapsychology

Politics

Pornography

Poverty

Rap Music

Religion

Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)

Rock-and-Roll music

Running away

Sex

Slavery

Terrorism

Television and video games (excessive use)

Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)

Vermin (rats and roaches)

Violence

War and bloodshed

Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)

Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.
 
My father is deceased, so I find the word "father" emotionally upsetting. I want it be removed.
 
I was going to say that threads with vague titles are annoying, but when I saw what this thread is about, I changed my mind and decided the title was completely appropriate.
 
Has anyone asked for any of these words not to be used? Or is this just a bunch of idiots in the Dept of Education (They should probably call themselves something else) sitting around thinking up things to do? There are few things I find more aggravating than this
 
why don't they just burn all the books and be done? :rolleyes:
 
For the longest time the word Interference has bothered me.
It definitely has a negative connotation. I believe it contributes to a lot of the hostility we experience on these boards.

We should consider a change to a name that suggests co-operation, sharing and courtesy.

 
We don't need to ban words. We need to grow some damn backbones, stop expecting the world to cater to us, & quit fucking whining about the never ending list of shit that upsets our delicate constitutions. Every body has 'hot buttons' but no one's so fucking special that the rest of society should strike certain terms/language/words from their mouths to appease all the cry-baby ass hats.

SHIT HELLFIRE, MOTHERFUCKING PUNKASS BITCHES.

/ :rant:

That felt good. I hope it offends someone. :shifty:
 
all kidding aside,

when I first looked in here I could not even complete reading the lead article, it is so stupid, I thought it was an Onion piece.

so I did a search, there were about 3 articles, I just checked again, and there are a couple of dozen. They are all about the same, it seems the origin, may have been one local NY CBS station.

Watching the CBS video, they say these are just guidelines, the Test Makers have the final word on the tests.
All School districts put in these lists, NYC list is a bit longer.
 
burn ????

that is one of the banned words

please consider the feelings of witches and french fries,
( you should know better, considering your country of origin.)

:lol:

ps- i don't have a country of origin, i'm just passing thru lol!
 
I for one am glad they are taking away words that could offend anyone. we need to respect everyone and if anyone could potentially be upset over anything it should be dropped. one of americas goals is to be the happiest place on earth so clearly we are well on our way. :up:
 
Protecting kids from anything that might "upset" them doesn't paint an accurate picture of the world we live in. I wonder if Canada has a list like this.
 
It's a list of topics they advise prospective test designers not to base questions on, not a list of banned words. FWIW
 
Dont say anything about dinosaurs. People might have to take their heads out of the sand (or their asses)
 
Dont say anything about dinosaurs. People might have to take their heads out of the sand (or their asses)

Nice one :up:.

So in other words, be careful of words that deal with...pretty much any sort of life experience/belief of any sort, then? 'Cause taking away the words (or not basing questions on them, as yolland noted) totally gets rid of the actual issues involved with the words themselves, right?

Seriously, you have GOT to be fucking kidding me with this. That is beyond insane.

Echoing Headache here-I miss George Carlin.
 
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