This picture was taken the summer after my first year of teaching. My first year of teaching was full of learning….not just for my students….but mostly for me. I had the privilege of teaching Kindergarten at Grissom Elementary School in Muncie, IN for the first four years of my career. I was hired two weeks into the school year when they decided they needed another section of Kindergarten. This was my dream job.
When I received the call that said I had been hired, everything became a whirlwind. In a matter of days I went from no job to standing in front of a classroom of 28 Kindergarten students. It was exciting, it was fun, and it was terrifying.
One of the MANY lessons I learned that year came in the form of choosing my terminology carefully.
It was math time about two weeks into my career. I was working on colors with my students. I had an amazing teacher’s aide in my classroom with me. I was standing in the front of the room, teaching (I’m sure) an incredibly riveting lesson. I would ask the students to color a box on their paper a certain color, and then I would ask them to put their crayons up. As the students were doing this, I was doing it as well on the front board. I had my back to the students while I was coloring and putting the crayons away.
After about the third color, I heard my teacher’s aide snickering at the back of the room. As I turned around, it didn’t take me very long to realize what she was laughing at. What I meant, when telling my students to put their crayon up, was to put it away in their box. Instead, what was happening was my students would color the box, and then hold their crayon in the air. They were literally coloring the box and then putting their crayons up…..IN THE AIR!
I started cracking up. I then explained to my precious kiddos that I meant to put the crayons back in their box. They started laughing as well, and we moved on with the lesson. And, yes, I changed my terminology.
How often, in our daily lives, do we say something that is interpreted in a much different way than what we intended. This has happened to me a lot. Most of the time, we don’t set out to confuse or tear down one another. However, our terminology can make all the difference.
The next time you set out to have a conversation with someone, make sure your terminology reflects what you truly mean. And, please, do not confuse putting your crayons up with putting your crayons away.
Real Teacher Real Life 