25 words better than "rigorous"

In this age of educational reform, the words "rigor" and "rigorous" get thrown around as a manner of painting a picture of students developing deep knowledge and meeting high expectations. For the most part the words are used with the best of intentions. They are however losing their meaning as they become more and more cliché.

Luckily people in education are starting to re-think our overuse of these words. It is not hard to do when we take a look at their actual meanings.

Take a look at this screenshot from Thesaurus.com for "rigorous".


 

 

Do we really want our schools to be harsh,  brutal, oppressive, and ironhanded? I don't. Here are twenty-five words that I feel paint a much better picture of the kinds of schools we want to lead and have our students experience.

challenging
encompassing
growth-inspiring
robust
enriching
expectation-ladened
vigorous
hearty
dynamic
compelling
highpowered
demanding
engaging
captivating
preparatory
deep
rich
strapping
brawny
stout
percolating
amplifying
enhancing
souped-up
elaborate

We should strive to get the absolute most from our students and develop their talents. That experience doesn't have to be an unpleasant one. It is a safe bet everyone involved will grow even more if we aren't so ironhanded.