Connotation and Denotation

I found the ideas in chapter 1 about language the most relevant to me. I especially like the idea that "there are no longer any innocent words" (40). This quote seems especially true now in our age of political correctness. I was thinking of all the mascot drama when I read this. I also had an AHA moment when the book put into words what I struggle with as a teacher of language as far as vocabulary is concerned. "The all-purpose word in the dictionary, a product of the neutralization of the practical relations within which it functions, has no social existence: in practice, it is always immersed in situations" (39). I took this as saying that a dictionary definition is useless in that it has no meaning outside a public or societal discourse. The word then only has a meaning when it is assigned one inside a social context. This gave me the insight that I really needed to help defend my method of teaching vocabulary. I don't care if the dictionary definition is memorized in its entirety. I insist on students being able to actually use the word in their writing and everyday discourse. Oddly enough, students have more difficulty placing the words into a situation (sentences) than they do with memorization. I have also had a run in with veteran teachers who insist that it isn't until they know the definition that they can use the words correctly which of course I have already proven incorrect based on previous test scores.