Sometimes you read things you cannot comprehend were actually given life in the giggling light of day.  A recent example of this non-awesomeness happened last month in Trenton, New Jersey when it was decided by the Educational Forces of Evil to no longer force third-graders to reveal a secret and explain why it was important to keep that secret a secret.

Here’s how the incredible story fell out:

State education officials will no longer use a standardized test question that asked third-graders to reveal a secret and write about why it was difficult to keep.

The question appeared on the writing portion of some versions of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge given to third-graders this past week. And it drew criticism from some parents, who thought it was inappropriate.

The state Department of Education said the question was reviewed and approved by it and a panel of teachers. It said Friday the question was only being tried out and would not count in the students’ scores.

Experiences like that give the entire educational system a black eye.  To force children to betray one loyalty to serve a lesser evaluation master is not only unjustified in the human condition, but it is cruel in every psychic realm.  No rational person would ever ask a child in real life to make such a morally wrenching decision with so little at stake — so why was it ever okay to include such a stake in the heart for a standardized test?

It doesn’t matter if the secret betrayal was temporary or just a testing of the waters of the mind because, in its essence, the idea crumbles against what we should be teaching our students — critical public thinking without the added pressure of betraying an embedded and disciplined trust — false or not.

If we want to challenge the morality and loyalties of children — it should initially be done in the privacy of the home with parental leadership.  Embed the morality first.  Test the indoctrination in situ with tensile love and support.  Education and life can then do real world stress testing of the elasticity of our children’s moral fiber — but not in a formal school exam that can, for some children, mean an actual exploitation of living or dying when it comes to breaking an avowed promise to actual people they may love, respect or even substantially fear.

6 Comments

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      I think they were trying to test abstract analytical thinking.

      1. I’m speechless. And then, what would they ‘find out’ by the child actually answering the question? Children can have a skewed view due to lack of knowledge of any given situation.

        1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
          David W. Boles says:

          I think they must have thought the children would tell some sort of innocuous secret that wouldn’t hurt anybody — but all secrets are always shared with an implied threat against telling anyone…

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