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Including a poem by an anti-Chinese extremist on an NCEA level 2 history test prompts students to ask for better sources from test takers.
Cadence Chung, 17, took her end-of-year history test, which sought to examine “the sources of a historical event that is of significance to New Zealanders.” The review focused on the mental health facility, Seacliff, and included the experiences of the people there.
Included was a poem by Lionel Terry, an Englishman who distributed pamphlets on racial purity and is known for murdering the Chinese Joe Kum Yung on Haining Street in Wellington in 1905, entitled Emotional Insanity.
Chung said that she and her classmates thought it strange that her poem was included. She and her friend wrote an email to the New Zealand Ratings Authority (NZQA) because they felt that the inclusion of her story was not appropriate in the context of mental asylums.
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An image of Haining St from 1905. The X marks the spot where Lionel Terry shot Joe Kum Yung.
“He showed him sympathy despite his xenophobic attitudes and acts. We also feel that the inclusion of his story in this narrative excused his actions under the pretext that he was ‘crazy’, which we feel ignores his blatant racism, “his email said.
“Neither of us wanted to include his poem in our response, as we felt that paying attention or showing sympathy would be wrong.”
The exam resource booklet referred to Terry as someone who was incarcerated in various psychiatric institutions and was widely known for his views on immigration and racial segregation.
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The inclusion of a poem by an anti-Chinese extremist in an NCEA Level 2 History exam has raised concerns among students. (File photo)
While Chung didn’t object to Lionel Terry being used, he felt there hadn’t been enough analysis and critical framing from the people who prepared the exam.
“I would like [NZQA] excuse me, “he said.
“It would be a good source when referring to xenophobia, but I think they should consider the sources further. There were thousands of patients who went to Seacliff and it’s strange that they went with him. “
Chung, who is a Chinese-born New Zealander, said Kum Yung’s murder resonated with her as a “rather blatant act of anti-Chinese sentiment.”
In presenting her poem, NZQA did not consider the impact on people who take the test, she said.
She hoped that in the future NZQA would make better considerations and work on how they choose their sources.
NZQA Evaluation Division Deputy Executive Director Kristine Kilkelly said the history exam required students to identify the reliability of sources, including their bias, by looking at how events affect society and continue to do so throughout. weather.
RNZ
A new mandatory NCEA literacy and numeracy test may be too difficult for some students. The Ministry of Education has presented draft versions of the standards that high school students will need to pass to obtain any level of NCEA beginning in 2023.
“One of the resources provided was a poem by Lionel Terry. The resource booklet included information for students to help them critically assess the reliability and credibility of Terry’s perspectives, ”Kilkelly said.
The exam required students to demonstrate critical thinking and, to enable this, it was necessary to provide a variety of historical sources, “which may include those with views that society rejects.”
“In no way does the inclusion in the review resources endorse or support the views of the author.”
Dr. Mark Sheehan from Victoria University of Wellington said it was very encouraging to see students criticize the way their exam was prepared.
Sheehan, who is a senior lecturer in the School of Education, said that while he supported the NZQA’s notion that young people should look at a variety of sources, the “decontextualized sources” did not reflect the nature of historical thinking.
This was something that history teachers had been discussing for a long time, he said.
Putting a Lionel Terry poem without explaining the larger social context almost lost its meaning, he said.
“The evidence in sources that are very controversial today was not controversial then and [people’s] opinions would have been like that too, ”Sheehan said.
Politicians and members of society would hold views that were not “significantly different” from Terry at the time.
“If you’re going to have a high-stakes exam, you have to put a lot of context around that, otherwise we can send messages that are potentially misleading and quite uncomfortable for many people.”
