Grasshopper New Media Presents...

As a child, I would ask my Dad what words meant, and he would always say, “Look it up in the dictionary.” “Just tell me!” I would wail, because I knew he could tell me the definition off the top of his head. After all, he had gone to college, to law school, and then to seminary. Reading was his hobby. His vocabulary was (and is) massive. But he would never tell me; he always made me look it up.

Of course, as I got older I realized that my dad wasn’t being mean, he was trying to teach me an important skill. I was thrilled recently to demonstrate that skill to my own children. I was reading an article in The Economist magazine about the war between Russia and Georgia, when I encountered a word that I was sure I had never seen before: irredentist.

Hey, an opportunity to be one of those good parents, the kind who find “teachable moments.” Rather than Google it (Lord knows my kids have already seen me Google a million different things) I pulled out the American Heritage Dictionary. I brought it to the breakfast table, and narrated my activity to my children.

“Look, kids! I read a word in this magazine that I don’t know. So now I’m looking it up in the dictionary. I, ir, irr, irredentist. Here it is! ‘One who advocates the recovery of lands of which his nation has been deprived of or of territory culturally or historically related to his nation but now subject to a foreign government.’ Wow. Who knew there was a word that meant that? I guess the phrase ‘irredentist Russia’ is kind of redundant, huh? Ha, ha!”

At this point I look up from the dictionary and realize that my kids are not watching me, listening to me, or learning important life skills. Instead, they are arguing about the placement of the cereal box so they can both look at it. There is a long discussion about distance and angle. They are not learning about dictionary skills, but they are learning the subtle arts of compromise, bribery, and emotional manipulation.

Oh, well. I’ll keep renewing that Economist subscription. I’m sure there will be more words that I don’t know, and more teachable moments.

by STL Mom

Photo graciously provided by *RICCIO “il colore del ricordo inganna”, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved