Both of these students- both high school seniors both old enough to vote in the upcoming election- thought 'Al' Qaeda was a person. At that time the United States had been at war for five and a half years and here were two students two young adults leaving the educational system who had never heard of al Qaeda. Both by the way had passed the multiple-choice reading section of the state's high school exit exam. Kelly Gallagher
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Osama Bin Laden and his group of terrorists, better known as al Qaeda, was a person in the minds of both high school seniors. When these students heard the word, al Qaeda, it triggered a memory of their history class when they had learned about World War II and the Japanese in particular. They were able to recall in detail the fierce battle that took place in the Pacific Ocean in which over 200,000 American servicemen lost their lives. The students were able to remember that war with such detail that when they learned that al Qaeda was a group of terrorists, they thought that this group of people was an individual person who had been responsible for this war.

Source: Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading And What You Can Do About It

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