Should parents object to nerd day at preschool?
Preschools often have theme days where children are encouraged to dress up in costumes.
At one metro Atlanta preschool, the days are aligned with the letters of the alphabet. And today is N for nerds.
But one mother who is an AJC reporter had second thoughts about dressing her child up like a nerd.
What is a nerd and is the term meant to be a put-down? AJC reporter Ellen Eldridge put the question out to Facebook, and it turns out others share her concern about what it communicates to 4-year-olds to dress up as a nerd.
“A quick Google search reminded me that, yeah, ‘nerd’ is a pejorative term, one of the stereotyping words that brought back terrible memories of middle school, where the wrong choice of clothes or after-school activities branded one an outsider,” says Eldridge. “I want better from my children’s academic leaders. I’m a word geek, a grammar girl and a wannabe nerd. Sticks and stones may break bones, but words are known to harm hearts.”
To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
About the Author
Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.
