Well, if you put your ear up to the monitor, you'll know.

A teacher wanted to increase her students' vocabulary. Bully for her. Our vocabulary binds our ability to express thought, and in many ways binds our thought itself. The more words you know and can use, the more nuances of language you can control, the better you can think and the better you can pass that thought on to others.

The teacher, unfortunately made a grave error. She forgot that there are stupid people out there.

People who can't use a dictionary.

People who think that because a word sounds vaguely like another word, they must mean the same thing, or at least should be treated that way.

People who could use a frickin' vocabulary lesson themselves.

The word? "Niggardly." It means stingy, ungenerous, scanty.

That you've already figured out where this is going is probably a bad sign. one parent of one of the fourth-graders had a conniption.

Although the word means stingy, Akwana Walker said it was inappropriate to use it because it sounds similar to a racial slur. She said she doesn't think fourth-graders can distinguish between the two words.

"My daughter told me what that word was, and I told her not to complete that part of her homework," said Ms. Walker, who is black.

The teacher, under direction from her principal, has apologized. The kids have learned that it's not enough not to use bad words, but you shouldn't use words that sound like bad words (like "buck" or "sit" or "punt"). And, of course, they've learned that you can claim to be offended and get everyone in the world to fall all over themselves apologizing and taking corrective action.

The student has been moved to another class. The teacher has issued a public apology, and has promised never to use the word again in class. A counsellor will speak with the students.

Ms. Walker wants the teacher fired. Ridiculous? Not given how the district has already caved on the matter.

Norm Shearin, deputy superintendent for the New Hanover County Schools, said Friday the principal is dealing with the situation.

"Our position is that it was an inappropriate action in terms of using that word at that grade level, in that context," he said. "... It was a bad choice."

(via VotC)

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And when those kides get to college (excuse me, if...) they can cry to their profs that they *deserve* special treatment because their earlier schooing didn't teach them *anything* that they need to know *now*...

wah. wah. wah.

I once had an aquaintence tell me I was making a racial comment when I said, "Calling a spade, a spade." Luckily, I knew the derivation before I used the word and was able to pass on a little "information."

Words have power and meaning, until we decide they sound like something bad. And let's not get started on "gay."

Well, remember, those who have been disempowered have the power to decide what power words have over them, and therefore we with powerful vocabularies must not further disempower them by asserting our power over what words actually mean if they think they sound like something else.

Feh.

Or maybe it's time that people in power stop enabling imbeciles by kowtowing to their ignorance. What a terrible boss the principal must be to work for, knowing that he won't support his teachers but takes the side of some person with nothing better to do than be offended by everything.

You might also want to check out the current discussion here and here. All comments & opinions are welcome :-)

As a Tarheel (some one born in NC) I would like to apologize for the stupidity of a few idiots in my state. More than likely they are from out of state originally (or hopefully). This type of action just proves my person saying: Political Correctness is an Oxymoron.