A few years back, I saw a great show by comedian Sandra Shamas. I think it was called At Wit’s End. In part of the show, she discussed hitting her 40’s and the phenomena of noun loss. Suddenly, this very articulate woman found herself literally at a loss of words and not just words in general, nouns in particular. She would find herself mid sentence about to name something and be completely at a loss for what that something was. “Can you pass me that...that...that...silver thing, with the curly metal end? You know that thing we use to open wine? ” Or she would just simply call something by a totally different name...totally randomly and with no conscious realization.
I laughed and laughed...and thought; that could NEVER happen to me. I am relatively smart, well-read and a writer for god’s sake – how could I ever possibly lose my nouns?
Well...it’s happened! So often now I find myself asking for something or just simply telling a story or sharing an anecdote when suddenly the noun is simply not there. Gone. Lost. Stolen. I look at the object in complete bewilderment. I know what the thing does, what its purpose is. I’ve used it on many occasions but now, I am suddenly drawing a blank as to what it is called. I can’t tell you how often I have resorted to simply calling these noun-less objects “thingamajigs.”
And while I find it extraordinarily alarming, it does provide endless hours of amusement to my 5 year old. For example, the other day, I looked at him with all sincerity and asked him to “go upstairs when he finished dinner to brush his calendar.” And by dinner I meant breakfast and by calendar, I of course meant teeth. He just looked at me like I was from another planet.
Then last night I was going to give him a sponge bath (because he just got a new temporary airbrush tattoo and didn’t want it to get wet). So I asked him to “go stand in the toilet.” He didn’t know whether to laugh or question my sanity. And I had no idea why he was balking at my request until I slowly replayed the sentence in my head and realized how absurd it was. All I could do was laugh...which immediately gave him permission to laugh with me. (And of course I meant bathtub. I am not some lunatic who bathes her child in the toilet!)
Happening in everyday conversation is one thing, but it’s also happening when I am reading him books or trying to teach him the definition of new words. The nouns, they just randomly disappear. How am I supposed to teach my child to be literate, when I am slowly sinking into my own personal world of illiteracy?
For the most part it is absurd and does cause much laughter to him...and to my friends, who are also suffering the same fate...and to me as well. But as a writer, I worry that one day, I am going to stare at a blank computer screen and not be able to find a single noun, or adjective or adverb or...a...a...wait...wait a second...damn it. What is that word again...the one that usually describes an action?
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
Dictionary dumps nature words
Last week I stopped at the local coffee joint for a latte and a little down time. I grabbed a couple of papers and began to peruse the news. The heading of an article “Dictionary dumps nature words” immediately caught my eye and I began to read.
It seems as though the Oxford Junior Dictionary has made the decision to DROP what they call nature words from the dictionary. UNBELIEVABLE! I wonder what Rachel Carson, Thoreau, Whitman and Emerson would think of this??!! They are probably rolling over in their graves.
It would seem that words such as heron, magpie, dandelion, beaver, ivy, willow, otter, acorn, clover and sycamore are no longer required. What is even more shocking is that the word blackberry – as in the fruit – has been removed, but ironically the word BlackBerry – as in the phone – has been added.
Vineeta Gupta was quoted in the article as saying “When you look back at older versions of dictionaries, there were lots of examples of flowers, for instance...That was because many children lived in semi-rural environments and saw the seasons. Nowadays, the environment has changed”.
This statement is unbelievable and frankly reflects the exact kind of mentality that is at the root of our environmental crisis. The environment has changed, therefore we no longer need our children to know about otters and beavers and ivy. Yet this change, the change we have created, is the cause of our environmental problems. And eliminating the words will only exacerbate the issues.
We live in a world where children are becoming more and more physically separated from nature. They are lacking a true physical, emotional and spiritual connection to the natural world. Richard Louv calls this disconnect Nature Deficit Disorder. He and Cheryl Charles have started an organization called the Children and Nature Network. Children’s Nature Network is striving to reconnect children to nature. In Richard’s own words “Nature-deficit disorder is not an official diagnosis but a way of viewing the problem, and describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.”
The costs of our children’s disconnect from nature are huge. And environmental educators and writers from around the globe, including yours truly, are struggling valiantly to reconnect children with nature. Getting kids excited about nature, interested about plants and animals and ecosystems...and getting them OUTSIDE, is the basis of our work. We have enough roadblocks and hurdles to get past – but now the WORDS THEMSELVES are being omitted? Not only are we physically cutting down nature, but now we are cutting the words from our language too?
Case in point...today’s paper had a wonderful article about the fact that 1,000 new species, such as insects and spiders, that have been recently discovered. But of course, if these words have been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, this article will have no impact on children who might not know what a millipede or spider is. And that would be a shame, because the newly discovered Dragon Millipede, with its vast array of legs and hot pink colour, is exactly the kind of species that could capture a child’s imagination and get them curious enough about nature to get outside and discover more!
I realize that the Oxford Junior Dictionary only has 10,000 or so words to play with...but it would seem to me that some of the most important words in the world today are the nature words. How will we get kids outside, much less interested and invested in nature, when these words are deemed as not important enough to be included in a children’s dictionary?
For more information:
1. Article from Toronto Star, Wed. Dec. 10 regarding the words being removed: http://www.thestar.com/article/551330
2. Article regarding newly discovered species (Toronto Star, Dec 15):
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/553127
3. Children and Nature Network http://www.childrenandnature.org/research/Intro
It seems as though the Oxford Junior Dictionary has made the decision to DROP what they call nature words from the dictionary. UNBELIEVABLE! I wonder what Rachel Carson, Thoreau, Whitman and Emerson would think of this??!! They are probably rolling over in their graves.
It would seem that words such as heron, magpie, dandelion, beaver, ivy, willow, otter, acorn, clover and sycamore are no longer required. What is even more shocking is that the word blackberry – as in the fruit – has been removed, but ironically the word BlackBerry – as in the phone – has been added.
Vineeta Gupta was quoted in the article as saying “When you look back at older versions of dictionaries, there were lots of examples of flowers, for instance...That was because many children lived in semi-rural environments and saw the seasons. Nowadays, the environment has changed”.
This statement is unbelievable and frankly reflects the exact kind of mentality that is at the root of our environmental crisis. The environment has changed, therefore we no longer need our children to know about otters and beavers and ivy. Yet this change, the change we have created, is the cause of our environmental problems. And eliminating the words will only exacerbate the issues.
We live in a world where children are becoming more and more physically separated from nature. They are lacking a true physical, emotional and spiritual connection to the natural world. Richard Louv calls this disconnect Nature Deficit Disorder. He and Cheryl Charles have started an organization called the Children and Nature Network. Children’s Nature Network is striving to reconnect children to nature. In Richard’s own words “Nature-deficit disorder is not an official diagnosis but a way of viewing the problem, and describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.”
The costs of our children’s disconnect from nature are huge. And environmental educators and writers from around the globe, including yours truly, are struggling valiantly to reconnect children with nature. Getting kids excited about nature, interested about plants and animals and ecosystems...and getting them OUTSIDE, is the basis of our work. We have enough roadblocks and hurdles to get past – but now the WORDS THEMSELVES are being omitted? Not only are we physically cutting down nature, but now we are cutting the words from our language too?
Case in point...today’s paper had a wonderful article about the fact that 1,000 new species, such as insects and spiders, that have been recently discovered. But of course, if these words have been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, this article will have no impact on children who might not know what a millipede or spider is. And that would be a shame, because the newly discovered Dragon Millipede, with its vast array of legs and hot pink colour, is exactly the kind of species that could capture a child’s imagination and get them curious enough about nature to get outside and discover more!
I realize that the Oxford Junior Dictionary only has 10,000 or so words to play with...but it would seem to me that some of the most important words in the world today are the nature words. How will we get kids outside, much less interested and invested in nature, when these words are deemed as not important enough to be included in a children’s dictionary?
For more information:
1. Article from Toronto Star, Wed. Dec. 10 regarding the words being removed: http://www.thestar.com/article/551330
2. Article regarding newly discovered species (Toronto Star, Dec 15):
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/553127
3. Children and Nature Network http://www.childrenandnature.org/research/Intro
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Once upon a time...
Once upon a time, there was a young woman from Toronto who decided it was finally time to create a website. Her idea was to have a site, with just a few pages, to promote her books. The site soon grew and grew and grew, until suddenly there was page after page after page, link after link after link...and most surprisingly, a blog! A blog? What on earth could she possibly have to blog about? And so begins her adventure...
Chapter 1
If you are reading this, chances are that you've popped in from my newly launched website www.rochellestrauss.com. Or perhaps you've found me by accident. However you got here, welcome!
So – who am I? Well, I am a lot of things. Professionally, I am an Education & Communications Specialist, as well as an award-winning Children’s Author. I am passionate about nature, the environment and education, particularly non-formal/informal education (in other words, the learning that happens beyond just school!). Through my work, I hope to educate people about the wonders of natural wonder...and awaken them to the incredible stories in nature. In doing so, maybe I can help shift the way we see and act in this world...perhaps even become part of a greater environmental mind shift.
Personally – I am a mother to a wonderfully sweet, if somewhat precocious, 5-year old boy. To him, I am a boo-boo healer, comedian, master chef, toy finder, knower of all things, playmate, person that fixes stuff, and taker carer of things. These are, without question, my favourite roles!
As a blogger – well, that’s still to be defined. I see this blog as an opportunity to write...something that for me needs to be more constant in my life. This blog will give me the chance to write regularly...and will allow me to bounce my ideas off you...an attentive and supportive audience. And what will become of these ideas? Who knows! Maybe a new children’s book, perhaps a new education program or maybe even a new career path. Wherever this goes, I look forward to exploring and exchanging ideas with you.
Hopefully you will join me on the journey! Please come back and visit my blog regularly...and pop in to check out my website when you get a chance!
Oh...and before I sign off, I must really thank my friend Kanchan for all her wonderful work on my website. Kanchan worked so patiently with me – and all my obsessive little changes – to create a site that I am really proud of. So thanks Kanchan!! And please be sure to check out her site at In Her Eyes Photography (http://inhereye.ca/).
Thanks for visiting!
Rochelle
...to be continued.
Chapter 1
If you are reading this, chances are that you've popped in from my newly launched website www.rochellestrauss.com. Or perhaps you've found me by accident. However you got here, welcome!
So – who am I? Well, I am a lot of things. Professionally, I am an Education & Communications Specialist, as well as an award-winning Children’s Author. I am passionate about nature, the environment and education, particularly non-formal/informal education (in other words, the learning that happens beyond just school!). Through my work, I hope to educate people about the wonders of natural wonder...and awaken them to the incredible stories in nature. In doing so, maybe I can help shift the way we see and act in this world...perhaps even become part of a greater environmental mind shift.
Personally – I am a mother to a wonderfully sweet, if somewhat precocious, 5-year old boy. To him, I am a boo-boo healer, comedian, master chef, toy finder, knower of all things, playmate, person that fixes stuff, and taker carer of things. These are, without question, my favourite roles!
As a blogger – well, that’s still to be defined. I see this blog as an opportunity to write...something that for me needs to be more constant in my life. This blog will give me the chance to write regularly...and will allow me to bounce my ideas off you...an attentive and supportive audience. And what will become of these ideas? Who knows! Maybe a new children’s book, perhaps a new education program or maybe even a new career path. Wherever this goes, I look forward to exploring and exchanging ideas with you.
Hopefully you will join me on the journey! Please come back and visit my blog regularly...and pop in to check out my website when you get a chance!
Oh...and before I sign off, I must really thank my friend Kanchan for all her wonderful work on my website. Kanchan worked so patiently with me – and all my obsessive little changes – to create a site that I am really proud of. So thanks Kanchan!! And please be sure to check out her site at In Her Eyes Photography (http://inhereye.ca/).
Thanks for visiting!
Rochelle
...to be continued.
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