Jargon offenders are to be named and shamed in a bid to outlaw "edu-babble" in teaching, writes Walter Hemmens.
Delegates at the annual conference of the profession will be told that today some among them are guilty of using "pointless, artificial and incomprehensible expressions" as a badge of status.
A motion demanding that teachers abandon "edu-babble" will be put to the conference of the ATL (Association of Teachers and Lecturers), which of course is itself a TLA (three-letter acronym).
It proposes a campaign "to restore clarity and dignity to professional dialogue" - a hint that much of the jargon used is incomprehensible not only to outsiders but to teachers themselves.
That the ATL fears its members are not all fully conversant with the latest "babble" is shown by the preface to its conference agenda, which helpfully provides a list explaining no fewer than 18 "key acronyms and terms used in resolutions".
The list features terms such as WAMG (Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group) and STRB (School Teachers' Review Body) that might well defeat professionals and outsiders alike. But did it need to add the handy reminder "Government: The government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"?
Today's motion urges that the ATL "publicises the worst examples" to discourage jargon.
It should look no further than the latest issue of its newsletter, Report, which tells the story of a TA who decided to become an HLTA because she realised that due to PPA time, TAs could be asked to do more. The school looked carefully at her CPD and now she is a PSHE coordinator.
The motion urges offenders "to seek therapeutic remedies for this affliction", but it does not specify the cure.
Maybe they should be made to translate themselves into an upright posture in the mural junction.
So, what the worst piece of teaching jargon you've ever heard? Post your thoughts ASAP.
