How Teachers Should Communicate

[Smarmie Doofus]

I'm doing some research on Jonathan Kozol ( about whom I am embarrassingly ignorant, btw) and came across this little gem.


>>>Q: How do you advise teachers to communicate?

>>>A: I encourage teachers to speak in their own voices. Don't use the gibberish of the standards writers. The official language of the state is loaded with bad English. You can't say use, you have to say utilize; you don't copy, you replicate; you don't start, you initiate; you don't just do it, you implement it. This comes from the world of mediocre semi-intellectuals who write state standards, who cover their insecurity by using polysyllables. All my work comes from a literary background and, at Harvard, I was blessed to spend two years as a disciple to Archibald MacLeish. He kind of adopted me. Like many young Harvard undergraduates, I became incredibly pretentious by my sophomore year. That's an illness not unique to the Ivy League but it is particularly prevalent in Harvard. MacLeish said that whenever you find yourself using big, fancy words in order to convey a term that can be conveyed in simple words, be suspicious of your motives. Good advice.>>>

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/10/21/the_advocate_of_teaching_over_testing/?page=full

[eppur_se_muova]

1. A capsule bio of Kozol ...

http://www.bates.edu/news/2000/08/23/jonathan-kozol/

[GMR Transcription]

2. How Teachers Should Communicate?

hi,
I suggest you to create an interactive sessions where students can participate and can put forward their views. They can enter into a an interactive session which will help them to boost up their confidence level and in building up their communication level.






Thank you once again..

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Good idea, but you've got the wrooooonnnng hombre. ( i.e. I can't do it.)

There is probably already stuff like that online. Perhaps someone can edify us.

Welcome to DU, in any case.

[savebigbird]

4. I suggest

I suggest that you check out his book Savage Inequalities; it thoroughly discusses the impact of under-funded, under-equipped schools serving children in poverty. If you're looking for another read, I'd check out Ruby Payne's Understanding Poverty.

I totally agree with Kozol that teachers need to adjust their language, not to make communication easier with other teachers, but to make it easier to deliver the messages they intend to teach to their students. Their language should match that of the age group they are teaching, in my opinion.