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$5 Words & What They Can Do For You

As Thanksgiving break comes to a close and I realize I have (I refuse to count) a whole lot of school days until Christmas break, I think it's only fitting to start the week off with a vocabulary literary post rather than a review (and I haven't finished anything — yet).

I guess with two teachers as parents I grew up with the understanding that if you are smart, you talk smart. If you want to be smart, you talk smart. If you pretend you are smart by talking smart, people will assume you are smart. (How is that for confusing?) My parents often advised me to use a $5 word. For instance, my mother hates the word "sucks". When I was in high school I let that word slip and, boy, did she have a come back for me: "Reagan, can't you come up with a more intelligible word? You sound like a vacuum cleaner." When I asked her what word would be appropriate she replied, "Well, inhales profusely would be a better, more literal, response."

How silly is that! But to this day I remember it crystal clear (and I hardly ever say "sucks"). I find myself using the $5 word strategy with my students. Two words I can't stand and don't tolerate are "gay" (in a derogatory descriptive sense — "That's so gay") and the R-word (as in "you r__________"). When my students use these words in my presence the first couple of times I redirect them: "What other word could you use?" etc. By the middle of October my students realize these words are not tolerated and if I need to (I seldom do) I make a call home. By November/December, these words are no longer used. Even if it's only in my classroom, I still feel like I've made somewhat of an impact. Of course, a few students have fun with it and retort with a more literal term: "That is so homosexual" (then I, of course, question it's logicality and I have a whole other can of worms that has been opened).

There are very few things I really try to drive home to students (it's not the plot of "To Kill a Mockingbird" or even literary terms) and this is one area in which I refuse to bend.

But anyway, I digress.

$5 words. I think by using "$5 words" instead of "sucks" and "gay," students appear more intelligent (who am I to judge their actual intelligence). When I explain this to students, they often say "Why is it important to appear intelligent if we're not?" The first time I heard this I was completely flabbergasted. Who doesn't want to at least appear intelligent (especially if your intelligence is actually in question!)? I mean, honestly! I'm not saying carry around a thesaurus; I am saying make a conscious effort to better your vocabulary.

I remember the first time I really grasped this concept of the $5 word; I was in college and I was proofreading my best friend's paper (English major) and I saw the word "societal." It's not a huge or complex word, but I was so impressed. I knew she was intelligent (obviously) before I read the paper, but to this day I try to fit "societal" in whenever I can in conversation.

My point is: $5 words don't have to be huge and I don't demand that students be extremely literal ("inhales profusely" — really?). But what other $5 words (that are applicable) can I share with them? "Societal" was the word for me that really struck this $5 word concept home. Is there a "smart" $5 word you catch yourself using regularly?

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$5 Words & What They Can Do For You + TIME