A reader sent these late-night reflections to me:
“I drifted off to sleep last night, the phrase “No Child Left Behind” kept ringing in my ears. It sounds so noble… No – Child – Left – Behind – surely that is good for our country. Yet, at the same time my eyes were closing, the disturbing aparthied maps that Jersey Jazzman posted were flashing before my eyes.
In the corners of my mind, memories of 1984, by George Orwell churn. Newspeak (the removal of negative terms from language) reappears today. “Newspeak is engineered to remove even the possibility of rebellious thoughts—the words by which such thoughts might be articulated have been eliminated from the language.”
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/section11.rhtml
Samples: Newspeak Reform Dictionary and Guide to Phraseology:
“No Child Left Behind”
Phrase meaning: self-explanatory
Reality: Yes, there are many children left behind. Can we find them in these maps?
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/03/school-closings-new-apartheid.html
“AchieveNJ”
Word meaning: Achieve – attain; realize; accomplish
Reality: “AchieveNJ doesn’t even make the attempt to correct SGPs for poverty!”
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/03/nj-ed-commish-cerf-wrong-on-poverty.html
“Community Engagement”
Word meaning: Oh… forget about the real word meaning… what difference does this section make?
Reality: “DONT allow the opposition to frame the standards or the new tests negatively: In particular, get in front of any opposition that seeks to characterize the new standards and assessments as a “one-size-fits-all” approach…”
http://www.achieve.org/
“Education Reform Toolkit”
Reality: School Closure Guide by the Broad Foundation
“Privacy”
Reality: “States must collect, coordinate, and use K-12 and postsecondary data to track and improve the readiness of graduates to succeed in college and the workplace…follow students through K–12 into postsecondary AND THE WORKFORCE and establish feedback loops to the relevant stakeholders…” (emphasis mine)
http://www.achieve.org/P-20-data-systems
What would George Orwell have to say about this today?”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its speakers conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view, or otherwise influences their cognitive processes. Popularly known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, the principle is often defined as having two versions: (i) the strong version that language determines thought and that linguistic categories limit and determine cognitive categories and (ii) the weak version that linguistic categories and usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behavior. [Wiki]
Fight fire with fire, not with fables.
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“What would George Orwell have to say about this today?”
“I told you so.”
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Diane, many newsroom stylebooks caution about using “reform” as a label because the word’s positive connotations can make it seem as if the coverage is taking sides. You should try to get them to live up to that rule!
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He would say to see this in reality look at post revolutionary Russia.
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http://www.achieve.org/our-board-directors
Governor Bill Haslam
State of Tennessee
Watch Governor Haslam’s Views on American Education and Achieve
Governor Dave Heineman
State of Nebraska
Watch Governor Heineman’s Views on American Education and Achieve
Governor Jay Nixon
State of Missouri
Governor Deval Patrick
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Watch Governor Patrick’s Views on American Education and Achieve
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Thanks for the info. Didn’t realize the Show Me state’s governor was on it.
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IF you don’t excel at doublethink, THEN you can’t be 1 of Sauron’s Ringwraiths. The seekers of the ring of power are really really good at keeping the bosses happy – and really really good at telling us serfs how great are
…the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office
rmm.
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