The Queen's English

Today was one a great demonstration to me that speaking the same language doesn't always mean you'll understand the person with whom you're speaking.


Case in point:  today, I was helping (read:  pushing) my kids to finish a project so that we could have a share out tomorrow and one of my boys kept going from idea to idea.  Finally, he settled on "You are invited to think like a trader", which I thought was really weird, so we then proceeded to have the following series of conversations.
Me:  "Sherwayne, do you know what a trader is?"
SC:  "No"
Me:  "If you're a trader, it means that you have things that you like that you would like to exchange with someone else.  Like I have 5 chickens and I would like to trade them for your cow.  Is that really what you want to invite us to think like?"
SC:  (sheepishly) "No."
Me:  "Okay, take this back to your seat and see if you can come up with a new idea."
**************Time passes**********************************************
SC brings work back.
Me:  "Sherwayne, you didn't change anything.  I feel confused about what you're trying to do here.  Do you really want us to think like a trader?"
SC:  "No."
Me:  "Okay, my dear.  Please take this back to your seat and work a little more."
***********Tick, tock.  Tick, tock.*****************************************
SC bring work back AGAIN.
Me:  "Sherwayne, I still don't understand why your work still says you're inviting us to think like a trader!  We just both agreed that this doesn't make any sense.  You know there's no trader in the book, I know there's no trader in the book.  So why do you keep coming back with a trader!?  (Brief pause to read what's written underneath)  Plus, Sherwayne, I don't understand what this part down here is doing!  This doesn't make sense; this has nothing to do with being a trader!  You're talking about someone turning his back and changing his mind.  This has nothing to do with...OOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!  Sherwayne, you mean a TRAITOR!  Not a trader!  (Conference proceeds in a much more productive manner.)


Yep.  That was my real life today.