Cave, Hic dragones!

A progress grade report goes home and has a statement: Progress toward proficiencies; Upper elementary benchmark; DERA score. Inquiry student-centered labs followed by formative assessment to inform instructional pedagogy. Huh? It's called jargon.

Most professions have their jargon-laden language. In some cases it makes sense too. There are very specific meanings and understandings in certain professions that require precise words to convery very specific knowledge. But in particular with education, the jargon mostly serves to raise a barrier between the education profession and the public, the most important public being parents.

The dangers of using jargon language with the public is that it not only obscures meaning, but also makes the profession appear haughty and arrogant. For parents, understanding their student's strengths, weaknesses, and progress are paramount, and, although the jargon vocabulary may convey those things precisely to someone in the field, it only conveys confusion to most.

Mapmakers used to put the phrase, Cave, hic dragones! (Beware, here be dragons!), on maps where there were dangers or very little knowledge of the area. They were obscure areas that were to be avoided. In much the same way educational jargon should come with the warning. The obscurity that it creates brings only miscommunication, bad faith, and mistrust. That will undoubtedly be used by those that see education as only a money-making opportunity to portray public education in a poor light.

But, we are the dragonslayers.