Jewish community leaders condemn question for 'justifying' anti-semitism in schools
Education Secretary Michael Gove brands question 'bizarre' and 'insensitive'
One former examiner defends question as 'legitimate'
Britannia's leading examining board has been accused of 'justifying' antisemitism in schools after GCSE pupils were asked in an exam to explain 'why some people are prejudiced against Jews'.
More than a thousand religious studies students sat the test last Thursday, which was set by one of the three major English exam boards, AQA.
The bizarre question has sparked fury among teachers, parents, ministers and members of the Jewish community who have blamed the body for 'justifying' anti-semitism in schools.
The question has caused such outrage that it has been carried to the very top of Government.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: 'To suggest that anti-semitism can ever be explained, rather than condemned, is insensitive and, frankly, bizarre. AQA needs to explain how and why this question was included in an exam paper.'
He said that it was 'the duty of politicians to fight prejudice, and with antisemitism on the rise we need to be especially vigilant'.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... one examiner leapt to the board's defence, saying it was a 'legitimate' question that pupils needed to be asked.
Educator Clive Lawton, formerly an A-level chief examiner for religious studies for another board, said: 'I do understand why people might react negatively to the question, but it is a legitimate one.
'Part of the syllabus is that children must study the causes and origins of prejudice against Jews.'
A spokesperson for AQA said that the question was part of a paper focusing on Judaism and the 'relevant part of the syllabus covers prejudice and discrimination with reference to race, religion and the Jewish experience of persecution.
'We would expect [students to refer] to the Holocaust to illustrate prejudice based on irrational fear, ignorance and scapegoating.'
She added: 'The board is obviously concerned that this question may have caused offence, as this was absolutely not our intention'.
'[The question] acknowledges that some people hold prejudices; it does not imply in any way that prejudice is justified'.
Ofqual, which regulates exams, said that it was in discussion with AQA: 'We will take appropriate follow-up action if necessary.'
Approximately six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust by the Nazi regime and its collaborators in the build up to and during the Second World War.
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#3
Ummm, I don't, and I'm not Jewish either.
Episcopal,if anything.
Posted by: Recneck Jim ||
05/28/2012 10:42 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"Why do people hate Jews?"
Because they're loser bigots who need someone else to blame for their own failures and shortcomings.
Guess what, bigots? If all the Jews in the world were to suddenly disappear, you'd still be losers. And you know it.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/28/2012 12:37 Comments ||
Top||
#5
They're convenient scapegoats for guys like Hitler and Achmadinejad.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/28/2012 14:25 Comments ||
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#6
Same reason they hate Mormons: nobody likes a sober, thrifty, and successful religeon that takes care of its own. It's a sure sign of the The Devil!
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