Words are everywhere spoken and published. Words fill websites, blogs, videos, journals, student work, and more. Words are easily accessed and spoken, and for this reason their value has the potential to be diminished. When it comes to supply and demand, words are in plentiful supply, hence is there a waning demand? I believe the demand stays strong, but it is the attention and understanding that may wane in this age of plentiful words.
How does one use and share words today?
As teachers it is imperative that we encourage voice, and by encouraging voice we need to teach children the value and import of words--simple straightforward words and wonderful rich words. We have to give students lots of word exposure, play, and practice with writing, speaking, debating, and reading. Recently a teach team at my school created an initiative to grow our word work next year as a learning community.
Further, we must let students test their words with a range of audiences. As students test their words, we need to ask these questions: What was the effect? How would you change your words for better effect? Did people understand what you wrote? Did your words inspire change, creativity, thought, or question? Using words in authentic ways will allow students to understand the potential power and strength of words.
And as for our own words, like dollars, we need to be both frugal and generous. Frugal so that we use the best words, the most important phrases, and targeted discussion. Generous so that we spread the good news, inspire, and question when needed. Like our students, we also have to continue to develop our voice and assess our effect and response.
Words like precious gems have great value; value that grows when strung together in wonderful design. Further, with multimedia composition, words today are often woven with image, music, dance, and more to provide a multi-sensory effect in real time or virtual. These multimedia compositions provide authors, young and old, powerful avenues of communication, avenues that both inspire and require responsibility, creativity, and direction.
As I work carefully today with students and their endangered species compositions, we'll focus on the words and the potential effect those words have. This focus will help students to see their assignments as much more than school work, but instead one way to develop voice and make a difference.
Words? How do you use them? What is their effect as you write, speak, and compose? Do we look at words differently today than in the past, and does our answer to this question affect the way we teach and develop students' word banks? Words, amazing words!
