Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id WAA19527; Tue, 11 Apr 2000 22:36:40 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 22:36:40 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <16.27594dc.26253a2a@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: BRmidwest@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:2863] Re: Adult Education Name Survey Update X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 101 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 2524 Lines: 40 The Euphemizing of America: It seems that over the last 30 years or so, we change names and titles because old ones are considered derogatory. For example, a psychologist's "patient" has become a "client" has become a "customer," while a "customer" in a retail chain has become a "guest." Meanwhile the "sales clerk" has now become a "sales associate" or a "team member." A new term is adopted--and then that one becomes replaced because it too begins to seem stigmatizing. The problem occurs when we start adopting terms that sound worthy of respect but really do not do a good job of communicating meaning. For example, "team member" does nothing to communicate the fact that this is a position that has to do with helping customers and selling things to them. (And the "guest" in that retail chain, oddly enough, has to PAY for everything he or she wants--not something we usually ask our guests to do.) I have the same concern with some of the proposed replacement titles for adult literacy/adult secondary education/adult basic education. Leaving aside for a moment the question of stigma, these 3 titles seem to communicate what the field is about. On the other hand, titles like "adult education," "continuing education," and "lifelong learning" are very broad: someone with a PhD can participate in "lifelong learning/adult education/continuing education" by reading the New York Times every day or by taking courses such as Understanding Egyptian Hieroglyphs or Bicycle Maintenance for Dummies at the nearby college extension program. Clearly, education of this type--valuable though it is--is not what our field is about. I do agree that the word "literacy" is rapidly becoming stigmatized. Many students at the community-based adult/family literacy programs where I work do not like to tell their friends, associates, family members, or employers that they are attending "literacy" courses because they feel they will be viewed as "illiterate" or "ignorant." Thus, we call our programs the Adult Learning Program and the Family Learning Project. These names work well because we always explain specifically what kind of instruction we offer (instruction in reading, writing, and math and preparation for the GED test). In naming an entire field, however, "learning" just seems too broad. Why not stick with Adult Basic Education and Adult Secondary Education (ABE/ASE)? These familiar terms seem to communicate directly and matter-of-factly what the field is about.
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