The Use and Abuse of DictionariesFeed-Your-Head SeriesIn-Person

What do dictionaries actually do—and, just as importantly, what don’t they do? In this salon, we take a curious and clear-eyed look at the myths and misconceptions that cling to these familiar reference works, along with the many creative (and occasionally misguided) ways dictionaries are put to use by students and educators alike.

Before dinner, we will peek behind the curtain to see how dictionaries are made—and unmade. We’ll trace how words enter (or exit) the lexicon, unpack what the ordering of meanings within a definition really tells us, and explore why lexicographers stubbornly refuse to declare that literal can only mean “free from exaggeration or embellishment,” no matter how many impassioned complaints land on their desks. Along the way, we will consider what dictionaries can—and just as crucially, cannot—tell us about language as it is actually lived.

After dinner, the focus shifts to practice in the classroom. Participants will explore ways to help students engage more actively with dictionaries by researching and writing definitions for words drawn from their own lived language—terms that often slip past the gates of traditional reference works. Together, we will reimagine the dictionary not as a rulebook to be memorized, but as a living record and an invitation to investigate how language grows, changes, and surprises us.

Cost: $25 (a $60 value, includes dinner and drinks)

Early Booking Exclusively for Academy Fellows*

Through January 1st, Fellows will have early access to purchase tickets for $25 each. Space is very limited!

*You are a Fellow of The Academy for Teachers if you have been accepted to, and attended, an in-person master class.