I don’t see difference as damage, just a new opportunity to understand a unique perspective on the world. I really enjoy Susan Ohanian’s outspoken insistence on recognizing the human facets of classroom life. She’s irreverent, quite often, and makes colorful use of the language. Maybe that’s what you’re noticing with the word, ‘weird.’ It’s not a pejorative term, here, though the school system often labels the standouts as “special needs” students - which is the same thing.

I appreciate your point. I wonder, though, about using the word “weirdness.” When I use that word, I generally am using it in a more light-hearted way when I describe something that I’ve done or how my students have acted.

I know in my urban high school, I think for many students it has more to do with helping them recover from damages that have been inflicted on them by others, society, or, in some cases, by themselves.

But maybe I’m just getting unnecessarily caught up in semantics.

Larry