Teacher Summary

Theoretical Basis

Sometimes people confuse a word with the thing for which it stands. A word exists only as a representation of a fact. A word is not the fact to which it refers.

Resource Readings

“A group of synonyms does not define an object. A careful description may help bring it into focus for the listener, but it is not conclusive. Final identification is achieved only by pointing to the apple, touching it with the hand, seeing it with the eyes, tasting it with the mouth, and so recognizing it as non-verbal. Here is the base from which all our proud words rise — every last one of them — and to it they must constantly return and be refreshed. Failing this, they wander into regions where there are no apples, no objects, no acts, and so they become symbols for airy chunks of nothing at all.” —Chase, The Tyranny of Words, p. 39.

“In all civilized societies (and probably in many primitive ones as well), the symbols of piety, of civic virtue, or of patriotism, are often prized above actual piety, civic virtue, or patriotism. In one way or another, we are all like the brilliant student who cheats in his exams in order to make Phi Beta Kappa: it is so much more important to have the symbol than the things it stands for.” —Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, p. 30.

“Words do not exist in objects, situations, feelings, etc. Words can affect human evaluations, but not ‘things.’ Calling a spade a shovel does not change it....

“The basic question: not, What was it called, but What was being so called?” —Lee, Language Habits in Human Affairs, p. 172.

“We have no intention here of urging that talk be limited to statements which represent what can be found outside-the-skin. Such a prohibition would be impossible even if urged. We are insisting, for proper evaluation, that statements be recognized for what they do represent.” —Ibid., p. 147.

Examples of Misevaluations in This Area

1. Teachers are familiar with examples of confusing words with non-verbal facts such as:

a) A pupil refuses to let his parents help him with his studies or even teach him correct health habits because he identifies the word “teacher” with his school-teacher.

b) Some parents are satisfied with the word “lazy” to describe a failing child rather than having his eyes, ears, glands, etc., checked.

2. Some people are more impressed by political oratory than by sound ideas.

3. A man goes berserk, shooting strangers on the street, because, “They were trying to get me.”

4. Radio listeners fled after an Orson Welles broadcast of an attack from Mars.

5. An audience allows a magician’s patter to divert its attention from his acts.

6. Some people believe the fake claims for cancer cures, hair-restorers, cures for stuttering, muscle builders, etc.

7. Some people believe in “magic words,” curses, hexes, etc.

8. The history of science gives many examples of scientists being disregarded or persecuted because their findings did not agree with the words of the accepted authorities.

9. Some believe that the Cinderella stories in magazines that always have happy endings are true to life.

10. Some boards of directors appoint a committee to make a report and let that conclude their activities.

Attitudes and Habits We Desire Pupils to Develop

1. The consciousness that life is lived on two levels: verbal and non-verbal.

2. This attitude: the word is not the fact.

3. The habit of asking, “Do the words fit the facts?” Pupils who are trained to apply this habit should make fewer false identifications. They should know that talking about a situation is not doing something about it; that saying, “I didn’t know,” does not justify mistakes.

4. The habit of asking, “Can I observe the answer to this question for myself?” rather than always rushing to the nearest book or person for the answer.

Presentation to Pupils

LESSON 4

Theory

One cause of some of our misunderstandings may be that we sometimes confuse the word with the thing it stands for; we act as if words were objects or feelings.

Experiments

1. Ask the students to put a piece of paper on their desks. Ask them to weigh it in their hands, feel the texture, hold it to the light, taste it, and mark it with a pencil. Then have them put the papers away, and ask how much they can do with the word paper. Can they do any of the former acts with the word alone? Do they sense the two levels?

Ask whether we can sit on the word chair, or eat the word lunch. If this seems obvious, ask whether people write checks when they don’t have money in the bank; whether they worry about things that never happen; whether they judge a person’s success by his possessions. Ask them what they think about an honor student who cheats; a student government that does not govern students; an “easy-to-repay” loan. “Are these examples of confusing the word with the thing?”

2. Hold up a book and say, “I have a very good boys’ book, an adventure story. Who would like to read it?” Then hold up another book and say, “Here is an excellent girls’ book. Who wants to read this?” Ask the pupils to raise their hands again for each choice. Ask them how they made their choices. Were they influenced by your calling them boys’ or girls’ books? Did they judge by appearance or knowledge of the book? Did anyone ask to examine the books? Do they think they were reacting to words rather than to the objects?

Have they ever had the experience of missing a good book because they had reacted to words about it rather than examining the book carefully to see whether it was what they wanted?

Evidence

1. Read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” with the class. Discuss.

2. Tell the story of how a family was saved from worry by a nonexistent bank account in the story Mama’s Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes.

3. One year our school had a close contest for the presidency of the student council. Ronnie clinched his victory the last day of the campaign by promising more dances, less homework, and more holidays. These promises were all beyond his power to deliver. When it became apparent that Ronnie could not live up to his promises, the students lost confidence in him and refused to follow his leadership. Ronnie had a difficult, unhappy year.

4. The Chicago Daily News printed an article pointing out that several thousand Americans will die during the next year because of their dependence on false knowledge: belief that high-tension wires can be handled with rubber gloves; belief that a handkerchief is a gas mask; belief that the gun was not loaded, etc.

Applications

1. “If you knew a small child accused of lying, could you explain this lesson in order to help him? Would you try to explain that words do not always match facts, but it is part of growing up to learn how to make words match the facts?”

2. “Discuss your pet superstition with the class.”

3. “What is done at some fraternity initiations to make the pledges think that words are objects?”

4. “If you have ever checked a rumor or gossip with the facts, tell about it.”

5. “If we call it ‘collecting’ or ‘my hobby’ when we take spoons or towels or other souvenirs when we are traveling, does it change the fact that we are taking something that belongs to someone else?”

6. “Do you suppose that you have ever said, ‘I’m tired,’ or ‘I’m hungry,’ or ‘I have a pain,’ when what you really wanted was attention or someone to show interest in you? The test would be whether you forgot your pain or fatigue when something pleasant came along. Have you ever been ‘too tired’ for homework or dishes but not for a movie?”

Conclusion

Some of our misunderstandings may be due to our confusing words with objects or feelings.

QUESTION

“Does this lesson mean that we must check everything we read or hear with the non-verbal facts?”

“Would we have the time or the means to investigate newspaper reports, to test each article that is advertised, or to find proof for each statement in our textbooks?”

No. We have to take some things for granted to be able to get through the day: that the school will be open on school days, that electricity and water will be furnished for our use, etc., without our phoning or checking. However, we must be prepared to check when the facts do not match our expectations and to alter our opinions when we discover new facts.