Learning the Language of Profit

By Alison Kirk

If education is going to "mean'' business, as more and more politicians, citizens, corporate leaders, and privatization advocates say it should, those of us who teach are going to have to shape up and change the way we talk.

For example, in schools and colleges, "academic" is a term of distinction, meaning serious, intellectual, pure, disciplined, focused, intense. In business, if the word comes up at all (and that is unlikely), it means moot, not worth considering, frivolous, not applicable. "It's academic" in the corporate world means, "It's a useless fine point. Who cares?" And while "abstract" thinking is a highly desirable skill for students--the very key to all transferable learning--the corporate mind interprets "in the abstract" as meaning "theoretical," "hypothetical," "unreal."

The words "affect" and "affective" for educators pertain to feelings or the emotions. Most are concerned with developing the "affective" as well as the "cognitive" domain. In business, "affective" and "affect" are misspellings for "effective" and "effect." Business considers "aggressive" a laudable word for seizing initiative and refusing ever to yield. Educators derive the word from "aggression" and...