Negatives Of Labeling

Labeling can be detrimental to a person’s self-esteem and how others see them. According to dictionary.com, a label is “a short word or phrase descriptive of a person, group, intellectual movement, etc.” In my opinion, labels are used too often. “The labels we attach to people and the names we call them can significantly influence how individuals view themselves and how others in the environment relate to them” (Gargiulo, 2012). There are many specific labels that are commonly used to describe students. One I personally used back when I didn’t understand the meaning, “retard.” It honestly hurts me that I used to let that word come from my mouth, and it is a very common word for teenagers to use inappropriately. Before this class, I never thought “disabled” was a negative term. In the article, “People First Language,” I learned that “disabled” is not the right word to describe someone with disabilities. A more respectful way is as simply as “people with disabilities” (Snow, …show more content…
So, as we discussed in class, it is appropriate when used in the service systems, and meetings that are only in place to benefit the student. I don’t think labeling is necessary in other situations because it just puts limits on the student’s abilities. No matter what age the child is, labeling can affect them. For example, I was assisting in a Pre-Kindergarten class and there was a child with Down syndrome. He was included in everything and the children knew different sign languages that he would react to. At that point, I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask the teacher how she taught the children those signs appropriately without hurting the child’s self-esteem and how explaining the reasons why he didn’t understand the words like the other children. The entire class treated him with respect and didn’t see him different than any other classmates, which I thought was