Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow
These are some of the words Oxford University Press has removed from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like blog, broadband, celebrity, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, and analogue and other "plugged in" words.
In the last 30 years, says journalist Richard Louv (I wrote about his book "Last child in the woods" here), children of the digital age have become increasingly alienated from the natural world, with disastrous implications, not only for their physical fitness, but also for their long-term mental and spiritual health. Advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual" experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children to spend less time outside. Says Louv: "It's one thing to read about a frog, it's another to hold it in your hand and feel its life".
The loss of the names of so many plants and animals from the dictionary will hinder children's understanding and appreciation of the natural world, contributing to the disconnection with nature. Well known Canadian wildlife artist and conservationist Robert Bateman said in an interview with The Canadian Press, the decision is telling children that nature just isn't that important.
"This is another nail in the coffin of human beings being acquainted with nature," Bateman said."If you can't name things, how can you love them? And if you don't love them, then you're not going to care a hoot about protecting them or voting for issues that would protect them."
"I find it frightening what is happening, that people are losing a connection with nature," he said. "And the younger generation are losing a connection with nature much more than the older generation. That's why when it's a children's dictionary it's all the more horrifying."
Now let me share an incident that happened at our preschool today.
| One of our four year olds found a bumble bee on the garden path. It was alive, but not flying. She carefully picked it up, using a piece of bark and examined it. She discovered it only had one wing. She was very concerned about the bumble bee and didn't want it to get trampled on. |  |
So she took it to one of our outside tables. There she nurtured it. She "build a home", using pine cones, twigs, and bark. She then picked some buttercups and put those near the bumble bee. "It wants to pollinate" she said. The other children nodded in agreement, not in the slightest puzzled about the word she used.
At our preschool we teach our children the names of the plants and animals we find in our garden. Sometimes the children teach us (see here). And if we don't know the names we help the children looking it up in our reference guides. Words like "thorax", "carapace" and "lamallae" are regularly used as we teach our children about the natural world. Children at this young age love language and absorb new words easily. They are intrigued with names like "arachnid" and "invertebrate". Like Bateman said, how can we expect our children to save the earth if they can't even name a dandelion or buttercup in their garden.
How many four year olds do you know who can say "tyranosaurus rex" without hesitation? Do you also teach them words like "tentacles", "spiracles", and "pistil"?
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