Political Correctness GONE MAD!

[john5746]

For Wal-Mart to do this, they must be afraid of lawsuits? Wal-Mart is big in the bible-belt south, the last place you would want to not say Christmas. I can't imagine any survey showing a significant group of people being opposed to Merry Christmas.

[ecoli]

Can you show illegal aliens mowing lawns?.........

what does an illegal alien look like? In Ameirca, we think of them as latino or hispanic, but the number of illegals from russia is growing steadily.

[Pangloss]

Perhaps Wal-Mart's communist suppliers ordered the changes. After all, christmas trees are green, but those "happy holidays" banners are a bright, Maoist RED! ;-)

[Douglas]

but the number of illegals from russia is growing steadily.

How do the Russians get in???

[YT2095]

let`s keep it on-topic.

 

The Over Reaction of "do-gooders" lest we offend some minority dreaming bizzare "possibilities" up and enforcing our compliance...

 

(or trying to )

[Douglas]

BACK TO PC

 

Severian................Is your cow HAPPY?

 

I read that PETA is suing the Calif dairy association for their "happy cow" advertisments.....I guess it's false advertising, as there are NO happy cows.

[ecoli]

BACK TO PC

 

Severian................Is your cow HAPPY?

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/image.php?u=2234&dateline=1131381151

 

I read that PETA is suing the Calif dairy association for their "happy cow" advertisments.....I guess it's false advertising' date=' as there are NO happy cows.[/quote']

 

To which the advertisers answer, there is no assurable way to define "happiness" for a cow.. so how can PETA be sure that they aren't happy?

[cosine]

I had to laugh at your spelling of Hannukah.

 

Political correctness just pisses me off.

 

Especially with regards to "Native Americans." Just for the record' date=' I've never met a native Americac who was bothered by being called an Indian. Each tribe has their own names for themselves, and none of them is "Native American."

...

[/quote']

When people say Indian to me, and I'm not sure of the context, I usually have to ask "do you mean Indian Indian? Or Native American?" I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, I just think of Indians being in India, and using Indian for Native Americans confuses the hell out of me.

 

<op>

 

And to the original post...

I realize that this is not the popularly held view in this thread. But I think there is a hint of a better idea in the woman's actions in the article. Failure is such a black and white term. Is the failure that gets a grade of 69% the same as a failure who gets a 0%? Why doesn't the number suffice to tell the student where they are at. It is much more contructive to tell a student that they need an average 1 point higher to proceed than to tell a student they are a failure.

 

As a forum with many bright science-oriented fellows, I'm sure some have had at least some tutoring experience. I have been tutoring mathematics for several years now (4 or 5, who knows?), and there is no student that is harder to work with than the student who feels they can't pass their tests, that they are failures, that they are just not the type (a.k.a. successful) of student that can handle the material. I have to spend time with the student first convincing them that they can handle the material before being able to actually move on.

 

A good attempt at being PC is not an attempt to bog down the bureacracy with more rules. It is an attempt to make the (educational) process more efficient by breaking the bad habits.

[ecoli]

A good attempt at being PC is not an attempt to bog down the bureacracy with more rules. It is an attempt to make the (educational) process more efficient by breaking the bad habits.

 

indeed. I notice that people who are more tolerant are often don't involved with the politically correct bs. Because they know that these terms are merely ways to describe people. Gov't and education are so afraid of offending people, that they are turning innocent phrases into socail jinxes. I no longer calling people "black" for example. I've never meet an black person who was bothered by it, but my educational experiance has caused it to be a taboo. Doesn't this serve to create more racial tensions rather then to relieve them?

[Douglas]

When people say Indian to me, and I'm not sure of the context, I usually have to ask "do you mean Indian Indian? Or Native American?" I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, I just think of Indians being in India, and using Indian for Native Americans confuses the hell out of me.

Where I come from, Indians from India are called East Indians, and Indians in the U.S. are called American indians.

[cosine]

Where I come from, Indians from India are called East Indians, and Indians in the U.S. are called American indians.

Yeah that distinction helps too.

[aj47]

My parents are both teachers and some of the things they have change in thier lessons are just ridiculous.

 

For example the blackboard has to be called the chalk board as it can be percieved as being racist,

 

You can't tick and cross question papers, wrong questions have to be circled.

 

and when answering questions you should pick people boy-girl-boy so it isn't sexist.

 

It really is getting too far, they need to bring back the cane to level things out or the next generation will be a bunch of wimps.

[cosine]

My parents are both teachers and some of the things they have change in thier lessons are just ridiculous.

 

For example the blackboard has to be called the chalk board as it can be percieved as being racist' date='

 

You can't tick and cross question papers, wrong questions have to be circled.

 

and when answering questions you should pick people boy-girl-boy so it isn't sexist.

 

It really is getting too far, they need to bring back the cane to level things out or the next generation will be a bunch of wimps.[/quote']

 

The boy-girl-boy thing is a great idea. There was a 20-20 documentary on how the educational system is bias towards putting boys in more "critical thinking" situations. One example of this they showed was that they video taped this teacher's class, and through the whole class the teacher would keep asking random students what they thought about they material, or questions like "why they thought that was." The teacher was horrified after watching the video and realizing that all the students she had called on "randomly" had been boys!

 

Now that may just be one situation. However, a boy-girl-boy-girl pattern would insure that both genders of students are being challenged equally with the material, so that no gender is baised towards one type of material than the other. Everyone knows that there are not enough girls in the science realm.

 

...And as for the other things. Yeah they're stupid, but so what? Does it effect anyone negatively? Stubbornness is not a virtue!

[ecoli]

Everyone knows that there are not enough girls in the science realm.

 

I hate putting quotas on things like these. They invariably end up hurting innocent people. Like affirmative action. Yeah it's great that you give government contracting jobs to companies owned by minorities, but what about the people you're putting out of work. is this fair just because they're white?

 

similiar things are happening in science.

[cosine]

I hate putting quotas on things like these. They invariably end up hurting innocent people. Like affirmative action. Yeah it's great that you give government contracting jobs to companies owned by minorities' date=' but what about the people you're putting out of work. is this fair just because they're white?

 

similiar things are happening in science.[/quote']

 

I think the difference between something like affirmative action and the boy-girl question asking thing is that certain companies, say, deserve a contract, or that more qualified scientists deserve the best positions. But do any people deserve to be asked questions more?

 

Upon reflection the boy-girl thing is only a minimal safeguard. The ideal would be that all students are asked an equal number of challenging questions.

[ecoli]

Where I come from, Indians from India are called East Indians, and Indians in the U.S. are called American indians.

 

That's kind of ironic, considering India isn't in the East and American Indians were here before America was.

[insane_alien]

India is in the east. right next to china. have you ever done geography?

[john5746]

I think the difference between something like affirmative action and the boy-girl question asking thing is that certain companies' date=' say, deserve a contract, or that more qualified scientists deserve the best positions. But do any people deserve to be asked questions more?

 

Upon reflection the boy-girl thing is only a minimal safeguard. The ideal would be that all students are asked an equal number of challenging questions.[/quote']

 

Yes, that makes more sense. I think it is good for teachers to be aware of tendancies, such as calling on boys, responding to bright students better, etc. But to tie hands is another story.

 

As for the other things, you mentioned what harm? It takes time and attention away from the teachers, and justifies the ' I am a victim ' thinking. People look to be offended, and so they find it eventually.

[cosine]

Yes' date=' that makes more sense. I think it is good for teachers to be aware of tendancies, such as calling on boys, responding to bright students better, etc. But to tie hands is another story.

 

As for the other things, you mentioned what harm? It takes time and attention away from the teachers, and justifies the ' I am a victim ' thinking. People look to be offended, and so they find it eventually.[/quote']

Breaking bad habits should not be considered time "taken away" from other things. And the terms are frequently more factually correct as well. Are Africans literally black? Are all "blacks" African? Are Asians literally yellow? Are Native Americans literally red? Are Native Americans actually from India? Are we really too stubborn to correct things we know are wrong?

[john5746]

Breaking bad habits should not be considered time "taken away" from other things. And the terms are frequently more factually correct as well. Are Africans literally black? Are all "blacks" African? Are Asians literally yellow? Are Native Americans literally red? Are Native Americans actually from India? Are we really too stubborn to correct things we know are wrong?

 

I was too general in my previous post. I have no problem with people using those terms, although one description is skin color, the other is origin. I am white and have no problem with that description. Why is any other skin color seen as offensive? Should we teach people that black or red or yellow skin color is offensive? In any case, African American, Native American and Asian/Oriental or Pacific Islander are used commonly. If that is what a certain ethnic group want to be called than so be it.

 

Carrying these things to an extreme is also wrong though. Saying blackboard or master/slave drives should not be offensive to anyone. If it is, they have the problem and need to fix themselves, not the other way around. We should learn to be respectful and have empathy towards others, but also learn to not rush to judgement and be easily offended.

[ecoli]

India is in the east. right next to china. have you ever done geography?

 

Interesting... I think I can get to India by traveling west, or north or south. direction is subjective anyway.

[Dak]

Breaking bad habits should not be considered time "taken away" from other things. And the terms are frequently more factually correct as well. Are Africans literally black? Are all "blacks" African? Are Asians literally yellow? Are Native Americans literally red? Are Native Americans actually from India? Are we really too stubborn to correct things we know are wrong?

 

hey, im not litterally white; but for the sake of succinctness, i wont get offended if anyone wants to refer to me as 'white', as opposed to the more accurate but less eloquent 'person of pinky-slightlylightbrown-whitish ethnicity'.

[cosine]

I was too general in my previous post. I have no problem with people using those terms, although one description is skin color, the other is origin. I am white and have no problem with that description. Why is any other skin color seen as offensive?

 

Oops, I forgot to include that one. I remember consiously telling myself to put it in. Oh well time to add to the list of rhetoric questions:

Are Europeans literally white? Are Aliens literally grey? And are all "greys" aliens?

 

Should we teach people that black or red or yellow skin color is offensive?

 

You were right I forgot to include everyone in my list, but don't look too much into it.

 

In any case, African American, Native American and Asian/Oriental or Pacific Islander are used commonly. If that is what a certain ethnic group want to be called than so be it.

 

Right, this would be my position.

 

Carrying these things to an extreme is also wrong though. Saying blackboard or master/slave drives should not be offensive to anyone. If it is, they have the problem and need to fix themselves, not the other way around. We should learn to be respectful and have empathy towards others, but also learn to not rush to judgement and be easily offended.

 

I agree, however things that are actually "extreme" never gain enough momentum to be legitamized claims. However the points of the original women in the op were quite justifiable.

[cosine]

hey, im not litterally white; but for the sake of succinctness, i wont get offended if anyone wants to refer to me as 'white', as opposed to the more accurate but less eloquent 'person of pinky-slightlylightbrown-whitish ethnicity'.

Sure you wouldn't. And I don't know many Africans (or other "black" people such as Jamaicans) insulted by the term "black." However more and more you can notice forms and such starting to use terms such as African, Caucasian, European (instead of using Caucasion that is), etc. just because it is more factually correct anyway.

[Edtharan]

I have actually been in a course that had only two assesment categories. They were "Competent" and "Not Yet Competent".

 

Most of the students felt that this was an awful way to represent the acedemic standing. It did not encourage students to try, as a mark of Competent was the same nomatter how much effort you put into it.

 

I could work as hard as I could, studying day and night to get the top mark in a test, and as far as any employer would know is that I was just as good as someone that only put in the barest effot to get that passing mark.

 

Graduated pass marks arre nesessary to encurage students to try their hardest as they are rewarded for their efforts.

 

Not being able to fail reduces the impact of the "punishment" that is not puting the effort into the study needed to reach a passing grade.