Banned Words in Lit Books, History Books and Standardized Tests--The Language Police Part 3

I finished reading "The Language Police" by Diane Ravitch yesterday and I am still reeling from what I have read in this book.  For post 1 and 2, please click on the numbers.

You would not believe that left wing and right wing pressure groups put so much pressure on the state text book people [who approve what text books to use] that text book publishers--[there are four major ones, only one a US owned company] have to be very careful they don't say anything to rile any group. Since Texas and California are HUGE textbooks suppliers and the schools can only used texts approved by the state oversight committee, they drive what is allowed in standardized tests and texts.

As I finished reading the book last night I came to Appendix 1 and was alternatively mad, shaking my head, reading parts out loud to Bob and actually laughing. So, for your enjoyment or for making you mad, here are some of the banned words, phrases and photos from actual state adoption committees. I have no idea how a contributing editor to a text book can even write anything that passes...

~Starting out with the first entry...

• Able-bodied (banned as offensive, replace with person who is non-disabled]
• Adam and Eve (replace with Eve and Adam to demonstrate that males do not take priority over females)
• Lumberjack (replace with woodcutter) [My comment: Are they the same thing? When I say woodcutter does that conjure up images of flannel, men with cross cut saws and floating logs down a river? Not even close in my opinion, and many of the banned words do the same thing. They take away images, smells and so much richness.]
• Birdman (banned as sexist, replace with ornithologist) [My comment--some guy on a roof with pigeons is not necessarily an ornithologist, is he?]
• Pop and Soda (regional term, may confuse child, say name brand); [My comment: The interesting thing is California bans name brands so I guess they say carbonated beverage? And that is less confusing than pop or soda?]
• Courageous (Banned as patronizing when referring to a person with disabilities.]
• Craftmanship (Banned as sexist, no replacement.)
• Cro-magnon man (Banned as sexist)
• Devil,/Satan 
• God
• East, Eastern (banned as Eurocentric when used to discuss world geography; refer to specific continent or region instead)
• Fairy (Banned because it suggests homosexuality, replace with elf) [My comment: Elves and Fairies are not the same things, and I think Fairies would not do well at making toys with Santa.]
• Fellowship (banned as sexist, replace as friendship. [My comment: Friendship of the Ring??? I don't think so!]
• Freshman (banned as sexist, use first-year student.)
• He/She/Him/ Her
• Jungle (banned, replace with rain forest, savannah)
• Man (banned as a sexist verb, as in man the pumps.)
• Middle East ( banned as Eurocentric, replace with South-west Asia--May be acceptable as a historical reference)
• Papoose (banned as demeaning to Native Americans-[My comment-but in a history book?]
• Mothering (banned as sexist, replace with nurturing, parenting)
• All Native American Tribes such as Navajo, use names they call them selves, such as Dine
• Old (banned as an adjective that implies helplessness, dependency, or other negative conceptions)
• Snowball (Banned for regional bias, replace with flavored ice. [My comment: did you ever throw flavored ice at someone on a cold day? Have a flavored ice fight?]
• Tomboy [sexist]
• Workmanship (banned as sexist, no replacement)
• Huts (banned as ethnocentric, replace with small houses [My comment: Really? Are those the same things?]

I could go on. "Balance names like Mary and John with Jose, Lashunda, Che and Ling. Do not compare humans with animals such as "eyes like a doe". Images to avoid: Women in jobs less powerful than men, women or men in stereotypical jobs such as women teachers and male doctors; Men and boy heavier and larger than women and girls; Mother comforting children, giving sympathy, hugs, kisses, hot milk at bedtime, girls playing in dresses,  Japanese people as law abiding {?}, older people who are cute, grumpy, meek, bitter, hard of hearing, rocking in chairs, baking, fishing, knitting whittling, etc.

I think you get the idea.

It makes me sad for all the children who have been educated over the past 25+ years with many/most of these bannings in place. In my opinion this is why it is so important that children are read and read for themselves real books, real literature.

Mario Vargas Llosa (novelist) has said literature offers a common denominator for understand human experience; it allows human beings to recognize one another across time and space...Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than learning about other cultures and times through great literature.

Ravitch says, "Great literature does not comfort us; it does not make us feel better about ourselves. It is not written to enhance our self-esteem or to make us feel that we are "included" in the story. It takes us into its own world and creates its own reality. It shakes us up; it makes us think. Sometimes it makes us cry."

I will close for now, but I urge you if this sparks your interest at all, please get "The Language Police" and as always read to your kids. There is nothing better you can do than to share great literature with your children. If you don't know what to read, shoot me an email and I will be glad to help you.

Take care,
Jill

See other posts by going here:

See post 1 here
See post 2 here.  
See Post 3 here.

I am an embarassment to my culture--or something like that

I continue reading "The Language Police" and it makes me madder and madder.

There is a lot to make anyone mad about what textbook and standardized test makers  have to go through to sell their products. At first I was mad at them for deleting everything worthwhile out of their products, but then as I read more they do it because there are so many pressure and special interest groups that will put up such a stink if their interests are not taken into account.

 In a reading or social studies textbook, for example, there have to be the same amount of female and male characters. Same amount of men to women, same amount of boy animals to girl animals. If there is an nanny goat, there better be a male animal to balance the book out.

No African American can be shown as an athlete; no Asian person as a cook, no older person with glasses, apron, cane or anything that makes them seem old [I think gray hair is OK :)-even fishing and baking cookies is out!], no woman can wear an apron or be cooking or caring for children...and so it goes. The reason? This is stereotyping and is insulting to the group you are stereotyping.

What?  [So, this is how I am an embarrassment--and maybe you are too.]

I think it is insulting to act like I am somehow an embarrassment to society because I care for children, cook a meal or wear glasses?? I mean isn't it really wrong to NOT show people doing things they actually do? I don't think all Asians shown should be cooking, or all African Americans should be athletes--any more than I think that all women should be shown as caring for children or baking cookies.

But none! Really!

As a woman who loves being a homemaker and who is a glasses-wearing, cooking-baking grandma, I resent the idea that showing a woman in that capacity is demeaning.  In my opinion it is demeaning to me  if you leave out anyone at all that looks traditional or is doing something that many people actually do.

I am still reading this book, but it makes me glad my kids got to read and have read to them, REAL BOOKS. Books that show people how they are--in all capacities.

Oh, and I forgot to say that grade school readers and standardized tests have to have questions that are location neutral. What I mean is that something can't be happening in the desert, or near the ocean or on a mountain or somewhere where it snows. The reason? Children who don't live in those places won't understand what those places are like and will somehow feel bad that they don't live by the beach  or have snow, or whatever!!

So, we have watered down stories about a non-traditional person anywhere doing something. Wow, how educational is that? I think about The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We didn't have to have snow to understand how cold and depressing the Long Winter was. We didn't have to experience hunger to understand how hungry the whole town was. If you take away the location and the actual things people do [Ma cooked and took care of the girls, Pa took care of the animals and went to get fuel to burn--my how horrible for my children to see people doing these traditional chores!] what are you left with? Where is the educational value of books?

It makes me sad for students and for us as a culture.

Take care,
Jill

My Other Language Police posts:
See post 1 here
See post 2 here.  
See Post 3 here.

The Language Police...

I am just beginning to read this book by Diane Ravitch. The subtitle is "How Pressure Groups Restrict what Students Learn." So far, it is unbelievable. She is explaining how  sensitivity reviewers decide what is included in text books, standardized tests and all sorts of educational materials that are used in public schools.

Oh, my--it is shocking. For example, a passage for 4th graders to read having to do with the history and use of peanuts.

It describes peanuts as legumes, in the same family as peas and beans. It says they are nutritious, and they were first cultivated by South American Indians, especially the Incas. It explains how the Spanish Explorers conquered the Incas, and Portuguese explorers defeated many Brazilian tribes. Then the peanut was shipped to Europe for cultivation. It goes on to tell how African slaves planted and developed peanut crops and then goes on to tell about George Washington Carver and his peanut work and discoveries.

Although the passages were suitable for the age group and historically accurate, the  bias and sensitivity reviewers oppose the passage for three reasons:

• A 4th grade student who was allergic to peanuts might be distracted by the statement that peanuts are nutritional and which does not mention the danger of peanuts to those who are allergic.
• Using the term African slave --it is not considered appropriate. The term should be "enslaved African"
• The passage that says that the Spanish and Portuguese defeated Brazilian tribes. They did not question the accuracy, but thought it might hurt someone's feelings.

Can you believe it? If these types of things have to be removed to make the readings without bias against any group, what is left? How can history be learned?

As I continue to read this book I will make further postings. It is clear to me that regardless of how your children are educated they need to be exposed to many, many types of literature where they can learn history from a variety of perspectives. When I was reading this chapter I couldn't help think of Sonlight's Intro to American History 1. See information below. Most of these books I love myself.

If you want your children to think critically  then please expose them to great literature, read together as a family and talk about what you read. Who wants kids who don't value the nutrition of the peanut because some are allergic? That is just plain nuts!

More later,
Jill

See post 1 here
See post 2 here.  
See Post 3 here.
[See what is in the Sonlight Core package--incredible treasure and a way to protect your kids from the bias and sensitivity reviewers.]

Discover key elements of American history from before the Spanish conquistadors through the 1850s, with a special emphasis on U.S. social history. You may wish to use this program, with modification, as the basis for teaching more than one child in 1st* through 6th grades.

Curriculum Overview:

Sonlight^® Core 3 introduces you and your children to the diverse peoples of the United States-those who lived in the Americas before Europeans came, as well as those who came after. It covers the time period from before Christ to about 1850. You will marvel at the way in which all of these peoples shaped our nation's history, and how the land itself shaped the people.
You'll begin your expedition with archeological information coming from hundreds of years before Christ then continuing with some of the significant peoples and civilizations that flourished in the Americas while Europe was in the midst of its "Dark Ages." You'll find out about those civilizations' grisly and cruel religions, as well as their beliefs that parallel the Gospel of Christ.
Of course, you'll accompany Columbus on his famous voyage across the Atlantic. You'll be present as the Spanish conquistadors subdue and ultimately rule and oppress the peoples they find in the land. You'll also watch as English connivers twist the Spaniards' record for their (the Englishmen's) own ends.

You'll find out how and why the Atlantic Ocean served as a highway that linked the Virginia colony to England while, at the same time, it severed the New England colonies from their "mother." You'll learn about the "charity colony" (now a state) that certain wealthy men from England started in order to provide a second chance for London's poorest slum dwellers. You'll discover which state was founded on the loot of smugglers and pirates, and which state (then a colony) was founded by men who believed the Bible taught them never to offer military or police protection when their citizens were attacked.

You'll be there during the American Revolution, watch as the Constitution is written, meet George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others. You'll accompany Adoniram Judson on his trip to Burma (Myanmar) in the early 1800s, and watch, amazed, as the incomparable Nathaniel Bowditch, a self-taught man, revolutionizes the international sea transportation industry! You'll come to know and appreciate statesmen like Ben Franklin; the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; inventors like Robert Fulton and Eli Whitney; plus dozens of other unforgettable characters — each one brought to life through a compelling biography or historical novel.

Truly, Sonlight^® Core 3 offers you the opportunity of a lifetime to enter into our nation's history and enjoy it "live, as it happened."

Besides the more academic and subject-oriented books like former Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin's Landmark History of the American People and John Holzmann's Incans, Aztecs & Mayans, you and your children will enjoy engrossing titles like Esther Forbes' Newbery Award-winning Johnny Tremain and Marguerite Henry's Newbery Honor book Justin Morgan Had a Horse.