"Mr. Daly Be Tripping!"

Just received this rather brilliant letter from a seventh-grade class at John Hopkins Middle School in St. Petersburg. The students had a few pointed things to say about my Soulja Boy review (which you can read here). Point taken, gang. Point taken.

Dear Mr. Daly,

We were very interested to read your concert review of Chris Brown, Soulja Boy and Bow Wow.

Our Journalism teacher Mr. Mabe had us read it to see what a professional concert review is like. Plus he knew those performers are all very popular with our age group.

But we soon ran into a problem. We could not understand what you were talking about. As one student noted, when it comes to vocabulary, "Mr. Daly be tripping."

Still, Mr. Mabe was able to use it as a lesson for us. We went through the story and found the dictionary definition of all the words we didn't know and then Mr. Mabe would give us an example of how it is used. And it only took us two 80-minute classes to look them all up!!

Here are the words we had trouble with, along with their definition:

fodder = raw material
fanatics = fans
sate= satisfy
jones = addiction
snippets = small parts
cohesion = sticking together
currency = money
bevy = collection
critiquing = analyzing or criticizing
rickety = unstable
grit = crunchy bits
mudslide = landslide of mud
swagger = jaunty walk or strut (Mr. Mabe said some guy named Mick Jagger invented that one.
emblematic = representing
bust = failure
lanky = skinny or raw-boned
tutorial = something that teaches you how to do something
raunchy = dirty or nasty
throngs = a large number of people (some kids giggled when Mr. Mabe said it because they thought he said "thongs.")
ubiquitous = everywhere
strains = part of music (but we only figured that out after looking at 33 other possible definitions.)
venue = a place
unison = all together, as one
foster = promote
conjured = bring or summon
engaging = interacting
banter = talking, chit-chat
dubbed = named or called
loose-limbed = flexible

We also never heard of Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. Some of the kids sort of knew the names but we had no idea why. So Mr. Mabe put on a preview of the movie "Singing in the Rain," and we all sang along.

So anyway, what's with all the big words, dude?

7th Grade Research Class
John Hopkins Middle School

Comments

[jane]

Dude, that is indeed all kinds of brilliant. Kudos to Mr. Mabe for facilitating a great, hands-on learning experience, big words and all.

[Marissa]

That's a great lesson for kids. I subscribe to the word of the day online. I hope you're flattered that your work is being used as an example for good; not evil.
My mom always kept our giant Webster's Dictionary out on the coffee table. Clearly, I didn't use it much, but it was there for my perusal.

[DG]

While what the teacher did (in having the kids look up the words) was positive, I almost get the impression from the student that you should've written your review to cater to their age group (which I don't agree with, seeing as you write for a newspaper and not Nickelodeon).

[Brad]

This is great!

It reminds me a bit of the Beloit College mindset list for incoming freshmen:

http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/2011.php

[bassnote]

Indeed, a monumental achievement to penetrate the gray matter of these impressionable juveniles.

Look those up kids.

I am personally apalled at the fact that not one person in a 7th grade writing class was aware of the meaning of such basic words as fanatic and currency. For a supposedly english speaking country, America has serious problems when it comes to educating it's children in it's own language.

7th graders that don't know what unison means? Are you kidding? Thats pathetic.

[sparky]

I never really understood the purpose of a dictionary. If I was able to spell the wold there's a pretty good chance that I know the meaning and how to use it.

This response from 7th graders is definitely scary and shows the effect of No Child Left Behind.

[sparky]

And by the way SD, Bow Wow just signed a letter of intent to play basketball at USC next fall, so I would say he's probably only 18. Just another useless piece of knowledge that Mrs. Sparky says clogs up the memory of birthdays, Anniversaries and other more important stuff.

[Jeff in Cuba]

I think it's indicative of the ever-widening gulf between our youth and the written word.

When the young sailors I work with get in trouble, they aren't worried about being assigned extra duty, extra inspections, or extra push-ups. The punishment that strikes the most fear in them?

Writing a 500-word essay.

[Marissa]

Hey Sparky, this is for you. I looked it up in the dictionary.

Main Entry: dic·tio·nary
Pronunciation: \ˈdik-shə-ˌner-ē, -ˌne-rē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural dic·tio·nar·ies
Etymology: Medieval Latin dictionarium, from Late Latin diction-, dictio word, from Latin, speaking
Date: 1526
1 : a reference source in print or electronic form containing words usually alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, etymologies, meanings, and syntactical and idiomatic uses
2 : a reference book listing alphabetically terms or names important to a particular subject or activity along with discussion of their meanings and applications
3 : a reference book giving for words of one language equivalents in another
4 : a computerized list (as of items of data or words) used for reference (as for information retrieval or word processing)

[jane]

I think you hit the nail on the head with that analysis, Jeff. The shorthand of text messaging is the predominant form of communication of the young -- no wonder the thought of a 500-word essay is daunting.

My problem with the dictionary was not in the definitions themselves, but the spelling, or rather, misspelling. I have spent untold hours over my life pouring through Webster's in search of the correct spellings of words.

God bless spell check.

[Sarah]

There's a really fun site where you can boost your vocabulary and help hungry people at the same time.

http://freerice.com/

[John Hays]

Pretty cool what the teacher did, but yeah, pretty scary that 7th graders know so few of those words. I really thought it funny that they actually had to go backwards on fanatic = fan, since fan is short for fanatic!

[Al]

I agree wholeheartedly, people. The writing I have to do for news stories is well thought-out and researched to the best of my ability. Regardless of deadlines.

The stuff that comes out over the press is sometimes just something to shake your head at. I edit writing all the time.

Kids have to pick it up. Instant messaging "English" is absolutely retarded. I was a bookworm as a kid. You learn nothing from TV and movies, for correct grammar and proper diction and usage. Parents have to pick it up too.

"And now, here's a few minutes with Andy Rooney...."

[John Hays]

Might sound funny, but I attribute a lot of my early familiarity with the English language to comic books! Having your kids read in whatever form you can do it is a good thing!

[Marissa]

Does that include Playboy articles?

[John Hays]

It never ceases to amaze me how many big film scripts start as Playboy articles. I don't know that it would go over too well as a reading assignment for a seventh grade class, however!

[Kari]

THE FOLLOWING WAS EDITED FOR SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR, AND CLARITY:

I am personally apalled at the fact that not one person in a 7th grade writing class was aware of the meaning of such basic words as fanatic and currency. For a supposedly english speaking country, America has serious problems when it comes to educating it's children in it's own language.

TO RESULT IN:

I, personally, am appalled that nobody in a 7th grade writing class knew the definitions of basic words, such as "fanatic" and "currency." For an English-speaking country, America has serious problems when it comes to educating its children in its own language.

IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO THAT IS "TOUCHE," YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN YOUR POST.

[lew]

was this a special needs class? sound like a bunch of real go getters!

[Alex]

Kari, what you did is a common attack on message boards when the subject of spelling and grammar comes up. While a reasonable amount of correct spelling and grammar are expected, this is after all an informal medium and so most of us give each other a pass when misspellings occur. To attack a poster whose content was on the mark but had a few spelling errors is just a waste of time.

Feel free to correct my post if you must.

[Alex]

Having said that, I think Mr. Daly's post is just another great example of the deterioration of our public school system, especially in Florida.

[Ron]

Sean,
I must assume that since this class took the time to write you that you will do the proper thing and reply with something more than just "Point taken, gang. Point taken."
I hpoe that you will publish your reply here for all of us to read.

[Sean Daly]

Indeed, Ron, I'll be writing a note to the class today. I spoke with the teacher last night to receive permission to post the letter on the blog. (By the way, I've been to this school a couple times to talk about what I do. It's a cool place.)

[Luke Skywalker]

It really is sad that kids today have such a poor vocabulary. With all the instant messaging and texting that goes on, they are growing up in a world where IDK, LOL, ROFL, and BRB is common-speak. It takes me 20 minutes to cipher through emails from my neice and nephews.

[Erin]

Folks, the cup is half full!

True, it's a shame they didn't know those words (and they probably won't remember most) but look at what they learned (and not from a text book or worksheet) reading a review from a newspaper--not understanding it and why--looking up word definitions--critiquing the critique--should 7th graders be able to fully understand what is written in a newspaper--should writers keep articles "simple" for their audience? I could go on and on. This is the lightbulb that every teacher wishes to turn on.

Kudos to Mr. Mabe for recognizing when true teaching/learning is happening. I'm guessing that the second 80 minute period was not part of his lesson plans but well worth the change. Good for him for being "loose-limbed"

Sean, I think you might need to visit that class.

[ben]

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the review was 8.4, so, maybe next year.

[Marissa]

Erin, I couldn't agree with you more. Yes, the education system is lacking, but Mr. Mabe took something that is part of daily (Daly) life and made it fun and intersting to his students.

I had a History teacher in high school who was famous for his current event Fridays. Questions would be thrown out about news articles. The first to get it right would earn extra points toward their grade. It encouraged us to read the paper, and learn what was going on in the world and our community.

[Carla]

Marissa... I had a Govt/Anthropology teacher in high school, that sounds like Mr. Mabe and your teacher combined. Current event Fridays were on his agenda too! Great teacher... played guitar for us.. brought in his boombox and cranked Graceland by Paul Simon, all to study by! Of course, he also let us watch episodes of Pee Wee's playhouse when we were good!! LOL (hmmm, wonder what he was trying to teach us there??)

Kudos to Mr. Mabe! Great way to grab the kids attention and teach them something at the same time! There should be more teachers like you out there!

Simpsons did it.

[Gene]

Sean, I'm with Erin! This was a great experience. You can sit at your cmputer terminal and pontificate about why text messages and Ipods are evil, much like our parents did about radio, but that is not helping. This teacher recognized an opportunity to spark his student's to learn something. Not only that, but inspired them to take the next step and correspond with an adult that they do not know to comment. That they did not recognize the words before is not the point, it is that they took action and now they do! This is encouraging and worthy of note.

[Jessica]

I actually went to this school's magnet program when it was still 16th Street, and I have to tell you, their academics back then were quite poor in my opinion. We were able to skip class with no penalties if there was a musical performance we were in that night. I hear its gotten better, but after reading this I'm not sure. Thank God for self motivation and good parents or I might be out there flipping burgers right now.

[Sean Daly]

If you're curious, here's my response to Mr. Mabe's class...

"To My Friends in Mr. Mabe's Research Class:

Thanks so much for the letter regarding my Soulja Boy review. You made my day, gang.

Those might have been "big words" I used, but they were also "good words." Just think -- you now have "swagger" and "mudslide" in your vocabulary. Your cool points are skyrocketing.

I hope you keep reading -- and responding -- to my reviews. Maybe we'll ALL learn something.

BUT.....What you DIDN'T write about in your letter were all the things in the review that you guys knew but Mr. Mabe didn't.

In other words, I was writing for you more than you know.

Go on -- ask Mr. Mabe to sing a line from "Party Like a Rockstar."

Or better yet -- ask Mr. Mabe to do the SOULJA BOY DANCE!!!

Anyway, I'd love to come visit your class and talk about this more.

All the Best,

Sean Daly

[DG]

That's a good response to them. It gives the students encouragement to expand their vocabulary without making them feel dumb about not knowing some of what you wrote in your review.

[jane]

Great response. The hands-on learning that this exercise is providing will stick with these kids longer than something in a textbook. I hope that your offer of going in to chat about this more (amongst other things, I'm sure) is accepted. Good stuff.

[Kari]

Alex,

You didn't get the point of my post. She was being snarky regarding written literacy skills, yet she seems to lack them herself.

That was the point. I don't usually point out people's spelling and grammar flaws, but this was rich with irony given the content of her post.

[Clock Radio]

Kari is dead-on. As a bonus, perhaps someone could point out to Ms. Morrisette the fine example of irony that is the post to which Kari responded. Yet I digress.

Now, someone please make proper use of the word "myriad" so I can get on to my Egg Beaters and toast.

Now, What does that say about our
educators ???? I really feel sorry for our youth. History and trivia seem to be lost subjects !

That is very sad .

[Clyde R Schnoor]

Now, What does that say about our
educators ???? I really feel sorry for our youth. History and trivia seem to be lost subjects !

That is very sad .

[liyah_96]

hey i think mr mabe iz awesome hes actually my teacher and hes not strict like other teachers he did a great job !!!!!:) we did do a great job remembering the words m
MR MABE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BIgz]

Thanks for the coments we are smart arnt we sean

[tom cruise]

you guys are mentaly challenged

[liyah_96]

anthony mosgaard stinks

sike!!!!!!

[briana silver and diana tobias]

diana- thanks nice ppl and all yall meanies that was mean

briana- we are smart arent we!

[Niecie]

i know our comments r tight and aaight and yea mr.mabe iz my teacher in newsroom soo thanx 4 da comments

[Bigz]

sean next time you make a review please make it able for seventh graders to understand.

[justin mosher]

hey i'm actually in Mr.Mabe's class and he's an asome teacher and to tell you the truth i knew just about all of the word's but i did not say anything because it was an assigment.These kid'd these day's!!!!

all yall r fuckin stupid

[briana diana]

next time don't be mean to yea again we are soooooooo smart. nd cut

[bob]

these kids need help help them omg there stupid

Hay to all yall that posted the mean things its not our fault that we dont know those words

[justin mosher]

whoop's i spelled kid's wrong

[Emiliano Sanchez]

you did a great job doing this paper

[savannah]

mr. mabe that was a good i dea wata you did to have us kids write a letter.
it was very fun. i know this because i am in your class.
you are the best teacher ever!
ILY=) YOU ROCKKKKK

hey mr mabe u are the best teacher u should take over nrs buttkis's class u rok u r my favorite teacher u and coach starling

spell ihop then say ness

[wikid klown]

soulja boy is ubiquitous

[one of those 7th graders]

most of the class is 6th graders and the teacher didn't never teach us those word, but if you think thats a shame why don't yall go to a school and teach us those words because Iam hundred percent sure regular teachers dont teach those kind of things plus we have to learn all those slang words our self

[peter leroy brinson hahaaha]

sorry but our class is not stupid its awsome you should visit so stop talking dirty there might be kids looking so talk clean who ever talks dirty is probaly dunb there self becuase if your not u wouldnt have put type of stuff like that were people can read it.

[mariah watts]

Well I go to JHop and, well, it's not just a 7th grade class there are 6th graders in here too, and not to brag but I have a very extened vocbulary, I made all A's and this is not a special class. I wouldn't say that JHop is perfect but it's a good school. But not all of us know these words and, not because we're dumb but because some kids don't pay any attention at all in class or just because they just feel lazy.

[peter leroy brinson]

ron u say were stupid.

[crankthat]

The class sounds rad. All of us, at any age or education level, have more to learn about our language. Instead of whinging about the state of seventh grade vocabularies, perhaps you could applaud a teacher who is being creative and students who are learning in a fun way. Don't hate; congratulate.