Children need nature words

Retired teacher Leann Thacker shares her opinion about “dandelion” and “minnows” and dozens of other nature words as well as farming and food terms being replaced with technical terms including “voicemail” and “blog” in the Oxford Junior Dictionary:

“(D)ictionaries and encyclopedias are to educate and enlighten young children. Today’s children are in need of information regarding the natural world they live in if we expect them to respect and protect that world. … I truly believe that our school age children need strong vocabulary which is the seeds of knowledge that will grow into deeper understanding and action. The OJD is doing a disservice when they delete words such as those shared in the article. Increase the number of words and give richer explanations. Our youth are much more capable than the OJD gives them credit.”