What do you mean?

In a world where we often seem divided (political viewpoints, money, time, free time, computers which are supposed to simplify our lives, and spring weeds which will turn into summer pestilence), I’ve found that asking my students to define words in their experience by their personal opiions, can lead to clarity. Definitions don’t always lead to tolerance or improved communication, but they do frequently lead to clarity. Buckmaster Fuller pondered how he defined words, and commented that creating his personal (connotative) dictionary [in contrast to our shared Webster’s denotative dictionary] was a turning point in his communication with others and himself.

I explain this idea of personal knowledge through understanding how we use words, to the students, and ask them to create a dictionary of their meanings, using words of their own choice. Following are some of the students’ definitions.

Education: The difference between making five dollars an hour and thirty dollars an hour. An accomplishment that pays off both physically and mentally.
Education: to learn a skill. A block of instruction. Something I received after I said, “I do.”
Education: Something I realized after fifteen years is the hardest thing to come back to and it sucks to have to admit my mother was right when she said, “Trust me. Go to school now while you’re in high school, or you’ll regret it later.”
Too much homework: three essays assigned in one week for my favorite English class. When my backpack is so full that I can’t even walk standing straight up, but leaning forward.
Too much homework: two papers due on the same day, a test, a presentation on the same day. This semester being my first in over a decade made me feel overwhelmed at times because of all the after-class assignments. Sometimes I would get home from work and realize there were assignments due the next day and work on them till early the next morning.