All can really mean "ALL"

I read an interesting blurb in a fellow Teach For America corps member's blog. She mentioned that she had read something about how "all" often refers to different groups throughout history and rarely does it ever really mean "all." Sometimes it refers to white men or white men who also own property. Women and minorities fit into there sometimes as well, but rarely. If you think about the statement "all people are created equal"you can't deny we've taken a few liberties with the meaning of some key words...

It's funny how we take language for granted. Think about it. How often do you say always, never or everyone? Do you ever really mean it? Is everyone really out to get you? Does your roommate really never do the dishes? Probably not. We just say this stuff. It comes out of our mouth like verbal diarrhea and we never stop to give a thought as to how it might affect the way we think. How can it not? If you repeatedly complain about how you can "never catch a break" are you going to be an optimist? Not likely. What if you tell people your best friend "always embellishes" are you going to believe her when she doesn't. Now I'm not saying to stop using these words, I'm just asking if you ever stop and think about them. Do you? I know I don't, at least not often enough. I think as a married person I need to watch myself more closely than ever before. Off the top of my head I can think of some things I have accused Erich of "always" doing, even though it simply is not the case. Always insinuates that something occurs 100% of the time. I know for a fact that Erich does not leave the bathroom faucet dripping 100% of the time, and yet I still say "You always do that!" in that accusatory, annoyed voice of mine. Not cool.

Ultimately, what I'm getting at is that the words you choose to use are important. I'm teaching in a self contained classroom now. I've got kids who have cognitive disabilities of all kinds. There are lots of verbal adjustments to make in this kind of career. For one, we try not to refer to the child as his or her disability. For example, to say a child is autistic is inappropriate. Instead we say a child with autism. That child is not defined by his or her exceptionality, just as you are not defined by your gender, age, race or sexual preference. I obviously try to abstain from using the word "retard" as a slang term (though sadly that's a hard habit to break), and I'm trying daily to use more positive language when describing my kids' challenges. Even words like "all" must be considered heavily when dealing with children with needs as great as mine. They are remarkable little people, yet so many people in their lives do not see their strengths. My school is well run and full of great teachers and administrators, yet these kids are still not treated the same as "all" the other kids. They are the outliers. Even within the classroom we have one child who is not always included when I say "all" of us. That's going to stop next week. I officially start teaching them on Friday, and starting Monday we're taking off at a high pace to try and catch these kids up with their peers. I'm not sure I have the stuff it takes to really get them there, but I do know this: I will include ALL of them in ALL of our activities and I will do my best to help ALL of them.

I encourage anyone reading this to think about a word that may be keeping you from being the person you want to be and consider changing how you use it or view it. It feels good.

Be excellent to each other.