“I will give $5 to the first person who tells me what ‘pugnacious’ means,” Principal Michael Horn told students gathered for the first monthly Blue Jay meeting of the school year. “What does that word mean?” he asked the student body.

“Pugnacious” is one of many big words Horn tosses around in his everyday speech with students and staff. He is known for his sesquipedalian ways - his use of big words, that is.

In the process, Horn seeks to inspire students to use a wider vocabulary. What seems to be Horn using unnecessarily large words is, in fact, Horn trying to broaden the students’ diction. In his own words, “If you can get students to start thinking, then they become inquisitive.”

Senior Cortney Simpson says she enjoys listening to Horn’s immense vocabulary. “His use of language is very exquisite, and it broadens our minds as students and helps our vocabulary.”

Another student, senior Precious Samuel, said, “It’s professional and introduces us to new words and expands our vocabulary.”
 
So exactly where did Horn acquire such intellectual vernacular? It turns out that he was once an English teacher at Thompson Middle School in Southfield. And before that, he was an English major at Alabama A&M. He has apparently never put aside his English teacher ways of always trying to teach one more magnanimous vocabulary word.

He admits that he didn’t always speak in such polysyllabic verbiage. When he was a child, he spoke like a child, he says. And when he was in high school, he spoke like today’s teens, he says. “I think that it’s the diction that I had when I was younger. All kids have a dialect.” 

However, in a Blue Jay meeting on Sept. 15, Horn made it clear that kids don’t have to use four-letter foul language in order to get their points across. “… Old folks always told me, people curse because they don’t have the vocabulary to communicate without cursing. In fact, I can curse you out, in such a way where you would have to get a lexicon to see what I’ve said about you.”

In fact, the widespread use of base language today is what helps drive Horn to keep using his dynamic diction. He said it is important for him to use a wider range of vocabulary in order “to expand the students’ vocabulary. To prove that people that look like us are intelligent. We are chameleons and have to be able to adapt to our society’s professional environment.”

Students aren’t the only ones who are privy to the principal’s immense word bank. In a Sept. 23 letter to parents, Horn wrote, “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2008-2009 school year at the illustrious, esteemed, steeped with tradition, state of the art Southfield High School. The letter goes on to invite parents to an open house, which he describes as “a time to meet and greet the professional educators who are entrusted with the arduous task of teaching and preparing your child for an ever-changing world.” As a final flourish, he pens, “Open House will commence at 5 p.m. and culminate at 6:30 p.m.”

He closes by saying, “I look forward to seeing you at the aforementioned events and together forging meaningful relationships that will benefit SHS students for years to come.”

While some of his whopping words no doubt sail over the heads of at least some of his younger listeners, Horn says he has no plans to water down his words in the future. He intends to stretch the vocabulary of his minions, even and maybe especially, the pugnacious ones.

Following is a sampling of some of the big words that Principal Michael Horn has used in school since the doors opened in September. Included for student convenience are brief definitions. 

Pugnacious: eager and ready to fight

Meander: to wander aimlessly

Tenacious: to hold onto something for a long time

Inquisitive: curious or wanting to ask questions

Lexicon: an ancient dictionary

Vacuous: showing little intelligence

Sagacious: wise

Judicious: to make good judgments

Altercation: a noisy, possibly violent quarrel

Prudent: not taking chances

Microcosm: a smaller group that represents a bigger group

Plethora: a great amount of something

Garrulous: unnecessarily talkative

Diligence: thoroughness; attention to detail