Jargon, The deadliest of the noble gasses

This is my first attempt at adding my voice to a discussion about education (special or otherwise) in America.  Education is a system that has very specific operational guidelines and goals, and understanding the terminology behind the system can clarify what specifically is going on with your child, your student, your niece or nephew.  The technical term for that terminology is Jargon.(See what i did there?)

Jargon, according to our good friends at Merriam Webster, has a couple of definitions which are appropriate to this discussion.

Definition 1
 Section a:  confused unintelligible language 
 Section b: a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect
 Section c: a hybrid language or dialect simplified in vocabulary and grammar and used for communication between peoples of different speech 

Definition 2: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group

Definition 3: obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words  

Education has its own jargon, Special Education has its own jargon, Speech Pathology has its own jargon, Occupational and Physical Therapy have their own jargon (often similar, but with differences), even School Psychology has its own jargon, (which has similarities to the jargon used by other psychologists, but with its own quirks).  Within each individual discipline in the school, the communication is affected by the jargon of the participants, and a person who is unfamiliar with that particular dialect of Educationese is often at a disadvantage when trying to get information from someone who is.  In this capacity, Jargon is confusing and can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications between staff members and parents. 


Starting with definition two, it is important to understand that education has its own language which educators will use to communicate with each other.  This serves several purposes for the educators in question, but it is often used as a shorthand communication system to convey lots of information in a short amount of time.  The education system has a lot of moving parts, and keeping them in motion at the same time requires the ability to swiftly convey information about students, meetings, goals, and a wealth of other extremely important information (note, that what is considered extremely important will vary from moment to moment,and staff member to staff member).


Jargon enters another area of concern when we consider Definition 3.  We all know people who use the most complex (and in some cases technically precise) language to convey information and meaning.  Are they technically correct?  Of course, but if it takes an extra fifteen minutes to explain the answer, what has that level of technical precision added to to conversation?  In an educational setting, this usage of jargon (intentional or otherwise) can be seen as condescending, and often leads to irritations and upset feelings.  From my own experiences, a school psychologist who uses his big technical words often gets to spend time attempting to fix communication difficulties that came up because those big technical words are second nature to him, while being uncommon parts of the language for other people.

So how do we get through the communication perils that Jargon offers?

I have found that having at least three different ways to explain a concept with at least one analogy and one anecdote often give me the tools to step back from the technical speak of jargon and relate to other people.
A graph or a chart CAN be helpful, but you have to make sure that the graphic you're using doesn't require more explanation than your original verbal response.
 You can also educate your co-workers about your jargon, this is best attempted when you make the attempt to master their jargon.  Often, you're talking about the same idea or concept, but you've been taught to call it different things.  This can be a happy conversation point, rather than a crisis point.
Keeping an open mind can't hurt any communication problem.  Realizing that you're both working towards the same goal (which should always be improving the educational situation of the student you're working with) gives you a common ground, and a shared destination that you are attempting to reach.  Operating with this idea in mind, listen to the other person, they may have an idea or an insight you hadn't considered.     

Those are my first few thoughts on how to deal with Jargon in an educational environment, look forward to more updates on other big scary words and ideas (and hopefully some fun stuff involving games)