Word Choices

When Nelson first started using the acronym "WTC" for their center, I knew I was going to have to fight my first reaction to those letters. I have to actively stop myself from reading it as "World Trade Center." I know that she had no idea that choice of letters would ever have such a meaning, but I had to struggle with that reading. Then she started talking about "WTC terrorists" and I had to stop and calm myself down again.

I know this has nothing to do with her actual content, but it made me think about how meanings change, sometimes to something with hugely negative connotations. I wonder how we can be more aware of this in our teaching/tutoring. Should we worry about language that my hurt students because of their personal histories? How do we deal with times when those hurts surface?