When and Where I Found It: When I was reading through Dr. Jones' post on the word "words", I came across the word tacit. She made the argument that most adults have a "tacit understanding" of the word "words".
Dr. Jones' Vocabulary Blog
Entry 10:4 - Words
Meaning: According to Webster's online dictionary, the word tacit means "implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed". In Dr. Jones' usage of the word, she is asserting that the word "words" is not a word of which most adults could express the definition. Rather, it is an unspoken understanding - a word we all know, but have never defined with direct, explicit verbiage. The word "tacit" accurately defined my understanding of the word "words" until I read her post!
Level of Familiarity: I have seen the word tacit before, and had a notion that it meant vague. Now that I looked it up, and have the direct reference to the descriptions that Dr. Jones gave (a very accurate example of "tacit understanding"), I would be able to use the word tacit myself.
Do I Want to Know This Word Well? Why? I would like to know the word "tacit" well. Thinking about my students, I want them to have much more than a tacit understanding of key vocabulary terms. Being aware of this word allows me to think about words that are commonly used but might be much more useful if we develop a deeper understanding. The difference between my understanding of the word "words" before I read Dr. Jones' post and my understanding after I read the post is enough to convince me that I need to be aware of which words both my students and myself need to have more than a tacit understanding of!
Do I Want Others to Know this Word Well? Who and Why? I think it is important for all teachers to be aware of what words their students may just have a tacit understanding of. While it is fine for some words to have a definition that is merely implied as long as students can use the word accurately, it will be important to flush out the vocabulary that have a definition that will lead students to a deeper understanding of the word. I myself will be much more aware now!
Thanks for reading my blog AJ! Not only do I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read my blog, but that you also found two words worthy of consideration!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have found the VSS strategy to be an instructional strategy which does move students' word awareness from a tacit level of appreciation to a deeper, more principled appreciation of the "meaningfulness" of words.
Best regards, Dr. Jones