Letter to the Editor: PSAT Students Didn’t ‘Break Oath’
The following letter pertains to our recent featured news story about teenagers using Twitter to discuss this week’s PSAT exam.
Dear Editor,
I took the PSAT this year and although we did sign a pledge, we made a commitment not to explicitly mention or name the questions. Based on the conversations on social media, I haven’t come across any direct references to Question Number "X". We usually just make jokes about the passages, but we don’t disclose any numbers, answers, or specific details. Instead, we simply jest about the topics covered and not directly about the test.
There is a strong negative bias in the headline, "Teens Break Their Pledge," which insinuates that teenagers are untrustworthy, whereas in reality, we are still abiding by the rules. As a teenager with a GPA of 4.00, an AP Scholar, and the vice president of a club with 120 members, I am offended by this insinuation. While I may laugh at other people’s jokes and make my own vague jokes, like mentioning that I couldn’t find the Spanish Moss that other students were talking about, I did not disclose that Question Number X is related to the correlation between Spanish Moss and another type of moss, and that the correct answer is "g" (please note that the PSAT answers are only labeled as a-d).
I hope that this website can maintain its sense of humor and express concerns without defaming an entire age group. Remember, whether you like it or not, we are the future generation of this nation, so it would be more productive for you to offer us advice rather than attacking us without any constructive criticism.
I usually enjoy reading your website and I look forward to receiving updates on the changes made to this article.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Grace
Editor’s Note: While I’m confident that our article does not defame an entire age group or attack a generation, I agree that the headline is excessive in implying that these tweets represent a serious violation. In reality, we found it interesting that even after expressly promising not to discuss the test, many teenagers chose to discuss it on social media. This is certainly a reflection of our social media era (and something that many Twitter users took note of later that evening). We have adjusted the headline to remove the accusatory tone. We continue to find the tweets intriguing. Thank you for reading our website and for taking the time to write. (Steve Snyder)
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