If you don’t think that semantics are important in a classroom, you may consider looking into some additional professional development or education about leading and managing a classroom environment.

Semantics are incredibly important.  And it worries me that anyone at the head of a classroom may not understand that in an educational context, especially when many of those same people may be charged with imparting that lesson onto their students.

I am not trying to start a fight.  I am just stating that commanding your language of choice in a manner that takes into account the affects particular words and phrases will have on your students, or on parents, or on other educational professionals, is what I consider to be a crucial part of being a teacher. 

It’s the difference between a student who needs extra practice with number facts and a student who’s not good at math.  It’s the difference between “You’re making some bad choices today,” and “You’re being really bad today.”  Sometimes it’s the difference between constructive criticism and being a bully.

If you’re in doubt, and you don’t want to look up the many studies confirming the effect that such things have on students, consider how you feel reading this post, and other posts, in #education.  Consider how you’d have reacted differently if I started with, “need to look into professional development,” rather than, “may consider looking into.”   Imagine how you might have felt if I said “shouldn’t be teaching.” 

Everything we say sets a tone.  As a teacher, we are responsible for the tone we set for our students, because that is the tone in which the classroom will function.  Yes, semantics is incredibly important.