i knew the excerpts on standardized tests seemed stupid, but when you are told that something is an excerpt from the work of so-and-so, you expect it to be the ACTUAL words of that person!
what frosts me most about this is that these are the same adults (well, maybe not. but still) who insist that schoolchildren learn about proper citation techniques and giving credit to the sources. did these test makers learn these rules, which include that you clearly mark when you have changed the original text? are these some of the same silly people who want to ban things like Huckleberry Finn because it might (shock horror) offend someone with the use of the word nigger? why not ban all reading of the Declaration of Independence too, since it might offend those who might feel that the colonies of America were rudely insulting to the English Crown? in fact, why not just ban all texts from the view of these schoolchilren who are deemed to be so sensitive to anything that might be the least bit offensive that they cannot even hear whisper of it? haven't these test takers read John Stuart Mill and thought about the theory that one must hear both sides of an arguement to understand it, and indeed even argue against those who hold the opposite view to make yours stronger? oh wait, probably not. there might be something in the works of JSM that might offend someone. more importantly, perhaps, they seem to miss the historical point of things. there was a time in this country when those with darkly pigmented skin were referred to and viewed in very negative and demeaning terms. there was a time when those of the female sex were viewed that way too. just because we don't now, does not erase the fact that we did before. perhaps these people want to change history to make it more "politically correct" (though that phrase with the founding of America is rather funny). then we are into the fears of the dystopian writings, and that is a scray thought.
i think shooting is a better method...
what frosts me most about this is that these are the same adults (well, maybe not. but still) who insist that schoolchildren learn about proper citation techniques and giving credit to the sources. did these test makers learn these rules, which include that you clearly mark when you have changed the original text? are these some of the same silly people who want to ban things like Huckleberry Finn because it might (shock horror) offend someone with the use of the word nigger? why not ban all reading of the Declaration of Independence too, since it might offend those who might feel that the colonies of America were rudely insulting to the English Crown? in fact, why not just ban all texts from the view of these schoolchilren who are deemed to be so sensitive to anything that might be the least bit offensive that they cannot even hear whisper of it? haven't these test takers read John Stuart Mill and thought about the theory that one must hear both sides of an arguement to understand it, and indeed even argue against those who hold the opposite view to make yours stronger? oh wait, probably not. there might be something in the works of JSM that might offend someone. more importantly, perhaps, they seem to miss the historical point of things. there was a time in this country when those with darkly pigmented skin were referred to and viewed in very negative and demeaning terms. there was a time when those of the female sex were viewed that way too. just because we don't now, does not erase the fact that we did before. perhaps these people want to change history to make it more "politically correct" (though that phrase with the founding of America is rather funny). then we are into the fears of the dystopian writings, and that is a scray thought.
-the IW