The Language Police
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The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn is a 2003 book by Diane Ravitch that details the role bias and sensitivity guidelines play in determining the content of standardized tests. According to Ravitch, groups on both ends of the political spectrum try to influence what is being taught to children; the Right removes references to subjects such as evolution, while the Left makes sure all minority groups are represented equally.
The author, Diane Ravitch, has an insider's knowledge, having worked in the education department during George H. W. Bush's administration.
[edit] Notable examples of possible test stories that were rejected
- A true story about a blind mountain climber who scaled Mt. McKinley was deleted, allegedly because it implied that "people that are blind are somehow at a disadvantage compared to people who have normal sight".
- A story about a rotting stump providing shelter to various animals that contained a passage comparing the stump to an apartment building was unanimously rejected by a bias and sensitivity committee which felt that the reference was a negative stereotype about the residents of apartment buildings.
- An entry describing owls was not accepted after a Native American member of the committee "said that owls were taboo for the Navajos".
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