Did y’all ever participate in spelling bees in elementary school? I did and I didn’t make it past the first or second round. Listen, math was my thing in school and words are hard. 😩Also, the English language is forever evolving rapidly! Words that used to be okay to use in everyday vernacular or sometimes no longer culturally acceptable.
I digress, I brought up spelling bees because one of the questions you could ask the judges was for additional context – such as the origin of the word, the definition and to use it in the sentence. Having that additional context can help some students figure out the spelling of the word.
I was thinking about how context is so crucial in daily conversation. I’m sure we all have made incorrect assumptions about something because we didn’t understand the full context of a thing!
But the only way to glean additional context from others is through communication – whether it is written or verbal.
We all have to be willing to ask open-ended questions, complete research if needed and view things in their entirety without jumping to conclusions! It’s okay to take a step back and ask for more context please!