Endangered Words in Children’s Dictionaries
A children’s dictionary is meant to be something that encourages children to continue learning their entire lives. If they learn how to look stuff up in it then they will be able to looks stuff up in the adult books as they get older. It should inspire them and leave them asking for more.
However, dictionaries space is limited so what has to go to make room for the new computer slang and computer-related items that a child might want to know? According to the Oxford Junior Dictionary, there are more than 30 nature words that can be eliminated that children surely will never miss – words like “otter,” “wren,” “acorn” and “beaver” to name a few. In these words place, one can find what an “MP3″ player does or what it means to “cut and paste” onto their very own “blog.”
Is this a wise move? Who knows. Children rarely spend time in the outdoors anymore – they don’t go “outside” to play but rather stay indoors to watch tv or play internet games. If this trend continues, what is the harm in removing nature from the little darlings’ dictionaries?
According to a Cambridge University study by two zoologists, the omission of words that describe nature further broadens the disconnection between children and the natural world. I guess if they can’t experience nature through reading then they will be more apt to sign valuable parcels of protected lands to outsiders. If kids don’t connect, then they don’t learn to care or respect the world around them which is the trend we are seeing in our teens today.
Let’s keep the words in there and add a few others – dictionaries should not have words that can be taken out. No word has an expireation date like bread and milk. The words don’t spoil. Let’s not so openly contribute to the dumbing down of America.
November 8, 2009 at 11:16 am
An interesting post. Words are powerful and I agree why subtract when they can add. I think our education system is so off. I think more money should be spent on the arts and less on sports. The arts can be appreciated by so many people throughout their entire lives while so few athletes ever have a chance to succeed and then for such a short time in their lives with the rest of society only able to watch from the sidelines.