"School" is a Bad Word?
Categories: Weird But True, Education
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Head teacher Linda Kingdon explains the decision: "We decided from an early stage we didn't want to use the word 'school'. This is Watercliffe Meadow, a place for learning. One reason was many of the parents of the children here had very negative connotations of school. Instead we want this to a be a place for family learning, where anyone can come."
In addition to dropping the 'school' label, administrators have done away with bells, whistles and locked doors. "We wanted to de-institutionalize the place and bring the school closer to real life," said Kingdon. Wait a minute! Did Kingdon just refer to this place of learning as a school? Oops!
Okay, I can appreciate the motive behind this idea - this place is different and they want the name to reflect that. But at least one organization thinks the whole thing is ridiculous. Marie Clair, spokesperson for the Campaign for Plain English says this is another example of political correctness run amok. "Here we are introducing our children to education and instead of giving them something familiar, something that they understand, we go and send them to a 'place for learning'," she said . "We all know that they are going to be going to a school whatever you call it."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Jenni 1-04-2009 @ 2:58PM
Considering one of the definitions for school is "the activity or process of learning under instruction", I think they are doing a huge diservice.
People really need to start looking at the real definitions of words rather than make up their own definitions.
Call it what it is.
http://discussingsemantics.blogspot.com
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DesertRat16 1-30-2009 @ 12:25AM
Call it anything you want. But if you're gonna get FEDERAL FUNDING they'll HAVE to admit it's a "school"!
How's THAT for LEARNING about the "real world"???
Master Bruce 1-04-2009 @ 7:37PM
That's pretty silly. Although I had never heard of the Plain English Campaign before reading this article. Now I need to see if there is a US chapter!
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L. Boose 1-06-2009 @ 7:10AM
Good grief -- Can San Francisco be far behind?
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sevenstar 1-06-2009 @ 8:14AM
Omit needless words. Now we have three words in place of one.
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Georgia 1-06-2009 @ 8:16AM
This just shows that we have a lot of stupid people in our schools! It's no wonder a lot of our children don't learn. I speak from experience. I taught for 30 years. It was quite clear that if you were to be promoted to decision making positions, you had to be a lousy teacher with ideas that would assure that the children would not get a good solid education! Where has common sense gone in America?
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john 1-06-2009 @ 10:07AM
I agree with Georgia.- Political correctness has replaced common sense in the school systems of this country.-Good teachers are held back, while less qualified teachers are promoted,-perhaps because of their race,ethniticity or because they know someone high up in the system.- Also,students are promoted to the next grade,whether or not they have attained the knowledge of the grade they are in.-How long has it been since you have known of a student failing a grade because hedid not have the knowledge of the grade he was in?- Many of our school systems spend the last half of the school year training their students to take the S.A.T. test rather than teaching them .---Unless we get back to teaching our students ,-with the best qualified teachers,-we will fall further and further behind.-
Jeff 1-07-2009 @ 1:04AM
COMMON SENSE IN AMERICA HAS GONE TO THE POLITICALLY CORRECT. HA HA
old enough to remember 1-07-2009 @ 1:34AM
Um, it seems that the teacher needs to go back to school - excuse me, the "place of learning" - to learn reading comprehension. This is occuring in the UK.
M. Carr 1-07-2009 @ 1:43AM
I, too, taught for 30 years- middle school- and we were given 29 minutes to teach. I spent the last 10 years as a special ed teacher and it was rediculoyus what we had to do.
Chris 1-06-2009 @ 8:21AM
I'd comment on this but I have to leave now to go to my place of making money to pay bills to live.
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Donna 1-06-2009 @ 9:14AM
Yes, and I must go to the food preparation center of my house to partake in some morning nutritional fulfillment...
tracy lee strickland 1-06-2009 @ 11:46AM
very good!
Mr. McGriddlecakes 1-06-2009 @ 9:57AM
This sounds like a load of excretory waste. Much like what was left in my human excretory waste deposit center today after my hot cup of morning stimulatory beverage.
JO 1-06-2009 @ 10:10PM
you and Donna are making me laugh out loud....you hit the nail on the head...hahahahahaha
Keri 1-06-2009 @ 8:48AM
Considering a teacher is a pivotal person in a persons life, calling someone ugly is rude and can be heartbreaking. Shame on her.
In America? she could be sued and I WOULD sue the nasty b----h
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Jeannie 1-06-2009 @ 8:22AM
If it looks like a turkey and walks like a turkey and gobbles like a turkey.. it must be a turkey.............. Even if you call it a "bird"
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Kai Ferano 1-06-2009 @ 8:22AM
Political correctness will be the downfall of this country. For example, a 90-year-old Irish American lady will be frisked at an airport but a 20-year-old Arab Muslim will be allowed to pass by -- let's not discriminate in America!
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Bill 1-06-2009 @ 8:44AM
Why not call "place of learning" politically incorrect and school politically correct? It seems quite arbitrary to me. Are the "negative connotations" of the parents due to being too lazy to study when they themselves were students?
vaapple 1-06-2009 @ 8:39AM
oh for Gods Sake... so is a school bus now called " the yellow place of learning vehicle"
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