Tuesday, August 26, 2008

When Words Get in the Way

jargon aphasia n. A form of fluent aphasia characterized by a copious flow of unintelligible speech. Jargon-aphasic speech may be subdivided into semantic jargon, in which ordinary words are strung together to form unintelligible utterances.

~ A Dictionary of Psychology


Dilbert: Mission Statement Generator

Education Jargon Generator

Hiding Behind Education Jargon

Edu-Speak

Education Jargon Information

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great links, Jim!

Love the education jargon generator! As a Parent, I've been subjected to many of the phrases during conversations with the local Principal and Teachers and walk away stratching my head ... and I've got a Masters degree!

It seems like long-winded, important sounding terms are replacing rather basic ones.

For example, "today we participated in some cooperative learning". Wouldn't it be better to say to a parent, "today we worked as a team to learn...".

I suppose jargon is an easy trap to fall into, but it does have ramifications for parental discussion.

I work in the corporate business world. It has jargon of its own. (see Dilbert) But I've learned to minimize jargon when working with clients. It improves my impact and allows me to communicate with greater clarity.

Teachers should do the same with parents.

Well, I've got to return to anticipating and fulfilling the needs of my customers, my "results-oriented" company, and the environment in the most cost-effective, efficient and safe manner possible.

The climate control system is not functional today. I need to initiate the operation of the atmospheric circulating device installed on my linear workplane and procure a storage device containing hydrogen oxide in order to regulate my effective thermal setpoint.

Or something like that :)

Jim Burke said...

Great to get a parent's point-of-view, Dave. Thanks!

Jim