I have a new favorite businessism (see, I can do it too) in the realm of education — "clientele." No, I'm not talking about people who buy cupcakes at the marching band's bake sale, or even the local businesses who purchase ad space in the yearbook. Our so-called clientele are, apparently, our students! And all this time I should have been charging at the door!
Headlining in the 400 Building: World War Two! Opening Act: Nationalism!
No.
Even more offensive is the context in which "clientele" is routinely used. Our principal regularly tells us that if we want to serve a "better clientele" we need to offer a "better product." Allow me translate from Cretin into English... if we want to serve more "upper middle class white kids" we need to "raise standardized test scores."
I'm not sure which I find more offensive — the increasingly moronic incursion of corporate jargon into my cream-colored tower, or the barely masked racism and classism masked by said jargon.
Okay, that's not true; I know which is more offensive. Funny how that doesn't make it any better. So much for "Knowing is Half the Battle." Maybe we should switch to "1,245,987 Served."
Thursday, January 24, 2008
New in Newspeak
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1 comment:
Seriously, every time he starts that smirky, wink-wink speech about attracting better clientele, I think, What kind of freaking Mexican are you?!
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