Care with Words

Abstract

I begin with my experience, with the importance of words during my early years, then as a teacher. Through the Prospect Center’s Summer Institutes, I learned a descriptive process, Reflection on a Word, based in the work of Pat Carini at the Prospect School. I write about learning this process, the ways it entered my teaching life, and how it is important to my thoughts and actions now and as I look to the future. Through the example of Reflection on a Word, I discuss the collaborative nature of descriptive processes and the purposes of reflective conversation. I point to the caring that comes with slowing down and taking the opportunity to look closely, and to the importance of observation and portrayal of the person within a teaching life.