Word substitution
Posted on: May 17, 2018
The op piece in this tweet was an impassioned call to step up our efforts in inclusive schooling and education.
I take no issue with that call because we can only be better people for it.
I did notice, however, that you could substitute every instance of “inclusive education” or “special needs education” with almost any contentious issue in schooling — say technology integration — and the op piece would still make sense. Take this segment, for example:
… we still have a long way to go in embracing
inclusiontechnology fully.One of the key factors for
inclusivetechnology integration in education is adaptation. The present landscape ofspecial needstechnology integration in education in Singapore is lacking in a customisable curriculum to meet the diverse needs of children with special needs.
I did not change the last two words (special needs) in my selection because every child is special in their own way. Technology can help express their uniqueness and latent abilities.
Reading the whole article more critically, you might discover that it says everything and nothing at the same time. Everything because it covers the issues broadly; nothing because it merely skims the surface. This is why we can play the word substitution game.
Viewed more broadly, the write-up might sound like a politician’s or policymaker’s script for a speech. It is a call to action, but it is so generic that is becomes impotent.
Word substitution is my way of determine the depth of thought of the written or spoken word. If one issue in schooling or education cannot be distinguished from another with the help of word substitution, its rallying call is but a whisper.
Another dot in the blogosphere? 
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