Words Is Important

1) Is a "mail merge" the extreme form of "male bonding"? Hmmm.

2) I was at a luncheon today celebrating philanthropy and philanthropists. The emcee was a local weatherman. He was reading out the accomplishments of a woman who was very active in helping the community. It's amazing how close the words "underserved" and "undeserved" are, but how much it changes the meaning of one's introduction when coupled with a particular population ("Francine tirelessly helps youth who are undeserved").

3) As Jill will attest, my hearing is not always the best. Whether through structural deficits (my interpretation) or choice (her interpretation). Either way, we had a workshop at our office where the instructor asked people to describe their job functions. I SWEAR that one of my staff said "catastrophe building," while she is equally adamant that the word was "capacity." I like my phrase better.

4) Which reminds me of when I was running a Head Start program in Houston and I was re-writing a job description for our social services coordinator position. I made notes on the old description and gave it to our Administrative Assistant to type up. I fully acknowledge that my handwriting is atrocious and almost unreadable. So I take some, but not all, of the blame for the job description that was posted looking for people who had degrees in "social work, sociology, or public death."

5) Around the same time at Head Start, we were creating a manual for teachers and teaching assistants working with the three and four-year-olds. Our Human Resources Director wrote the first draft, and while she was well-meaning, I doubt that she really meant to prohibit "corporate punishment." At our next staff meeting, we tried to think of what that might entail - being moved to a cubicle, losing your parking spot, having your vacation balance lowered...

So, for the rest of my time there, we had the full spectrum of disciplinary actions outlined, from corporate punishment all the way to public death.