20 Words Teachers Officially Never Want To Hear Again

Looking at you, “rigor.”

Collage of teachers with text 'Pivot' and 'Friends'

Every discipline has its share of jargon, and some of that is certainly necessary. But is it just me, or is education a little out of control? There are plenty of phrases that donā€™t make any sense outside of an education context (or occasionally, not even in one), and the use of acronyms is, in my opinion, egregious. (ā€œAre you DIBELing today?ā€) And then there are just some words that drive you nuts. Therefore, I give you my (by no means exhaustive) list of words teachers never want to hear again.

ā€œRigorā€

Look, I realize that itā€™s important for educational experiences to be intellectually challenging, but I think weā€™ve taken it a bit too far. (Donā€™t get me started on rigor in kindergarten.) And maybe I watch too many crime procedural shows, but this word just makes me think of dead bodies.

ā€œPivotā€

I cannot hear ā€œpivotā€ and not have Ross Geller from ā€œFriendsā€ echoing in my ears. And itā€™s extra painful because I know it means Iā€™m going to have to throw out everything I did and start all over again.

ā€œSelf-careā€

Donā€™t get me wrong, Iā€™m all about teachers doing what they need to take care of themselves. Iā€™m not a fan, however, of admin using the term flippantly. Like, donā€™t tell me to practice self-care in one breath and then deny my discretionary leave in the next.

ā€œFriendsā€

Iā€™m probably going to offend some people here, but I canā€™t get on board with calling my students ā€œfriends.ā€ Iā€™m sure you all have your own opinions around addressing students. In the great wide world of teachers, there are plenty of people who hate ā€œkiddos, ā€œscholars,ā€ and ā€œpupils.ā€ So there.Ā 

ā€œFidelityā€

It gets thrown around all the time and much to our collective chagrin, because nothing says ā€œwe donā€™t trust teachersā€ like the word ā€œfidelity.ā€ Look, I get that a research-based program wonā€™t be as effective if we step too far away from its original design. But we also deserve to have our professionalism respected if we need to adapt to the needs of our students.

ā€œUnpackā€

Um, can my standards just come unpacked in the first place?

ā€œStakeholdersā€

Code for: people whose opinions matter more than teachersā€™.

ā€œMondayā€

For obvious reasons.

ā€œIntentionalā€

Oh, Iā€™m so glad you told me because Iā€™ve been doing all this teaching accidentally.Ā 

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ā€œRobustā€

Honestly, this one just gives me a fit of the giggles. I feel like itā€™s the educational equivalent of ā€œmoist.ā€ I know it can mean anything from hardy and vigorous to strong and effective. In any case, Iā€™m much more likely to use it to describe wine than a curriculum or approach.Ā 

ā€œPedagogyā€

This term refers to the theory and practice of teaching. Itā€™s the stuff of teachersā€™ daily lives. But dare I say itā€™s also a tad pretentious? Like, letā€™s just call it teaching, no?

ā€œData-drivenā€

Letā€™s take a ā€œdeeper diveā€ and ā€œdrill downā€ while weā€™re at it.

ā€œAlignmentā€

Tell me Iā€™m going to be putting sticky notes on a larger sheet of sticky notes without telling me Iā€™m going to be putting sticky notes on a larger sheet of sticky notes.

ā€œGranularā€

This word makes me think of zits. I have no explanation.

ā€œInitiativeā€

As in a new one. As in more on your plate without taking anything off.

ā€œTransparentā€

This word gives me a serious case of ā€œI donā€™t believe you.ā€

ā€œCohortā€

Dude, itā€™s just a group. Also ā€œclusterā€ because I hear a swear at the end of it.

ā€œStaffultyā€

I know! Letā€™s take two words and make a non-word! Hanitizer, craftivity, and the granddaddy of them all: gymacafetorium.

ā€œTableā€

Iā€™m going to put a pin in this or put it in the parking lot. Thatā€™s eduspeak for weā€™re never going to get to it.

ā€œStick-to-itivenessā€

Of all the words I hate, itā€™s the words that arenā€™t words that I hate the most. Especially when thereā€™s an actual existing word that means the same thing. ā€œTenacity,ā€ anyone?

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From rigor and pedagogy to the more recent asynchronous and synchronous, we rounded up the words teachers never want to hear ever again.