Going Nucking Futz

Well, I guess now is as good as time as any to introduce the killer whale. My memory fails me occasionally but the parable goes something like this. Two guys get thrown overboard and are treading water. One spots a killer whale and says, “That’s one big fish!” The other responds by correcting him, saying, “No, that’s actually a mammal.” The killer whale eats them both. Now I think the story is about labels vs. meanings. That’s how I took it, and it struck a huge chord with me because we live in a society where everything is labeled. Good or bad, we have names for it. I’m not suggesting that we get rid of every noun in existence, but we should remember that things are what they are and by changing the name does not change the what they are. The first example that pops into my head, is the American use of water boarding as aggressive interrogation but is not torture. Now comes the part that fits into education. This is where labels run rampant. I can’t even keep up with them. Handicapped, became handicapable which became special people became special need, which became people with exceptionalities, all in the interests of trying so desperately not to have negative connotations. In time, the label will change again no doubt. But now we have acronyms on top of it all. BCCT, BCFT, ADS, ADSL, PLO, PAC, MAN, LOL. I have become so confused about this, I had to ask what ASD meant about a dozen times and I was doing a project on it. I guess what I am trying to say is, the label isn’t as important as the meaning. Yes, I know labels are important to help convey an idea, and especially important when grading papers. But lets not put too much stalk into it. After all, it won’t matter a hill-a-beans when being devoured by a big fish.