I never think there is any one perfect way to do anything. I’m always looking for new ways to do things and just about the time that I think I have it all together, a child comes into my world that changes my mind.
– Bev Bos, 1934-2016, Preschool Director and International Speaker

The words we choose to describe our work shape the values and assumptions that drive our work. One frequent phrase that permeates our field and others is ‘best practices.’ I recall from years ago one of many powerful conversations with former Exchange editor Bonnie Neugebauer. The details are fuzzy, but the take-home point was clear: how can we ever rightfully claim one approach or another to be ‘best?’ Who is the arbiter? What logic dictates that what might work ‘best’ from one perspective or in one context would be equally excellent from another point of view or in a different community, culture, time or place?

Probably about the same time Bonnie and I were talking, Mike Myatt wrote in Forbes: “The reality is best practices are nothing more than disparate groups of methodologies, processes, rules, concepts and theories that attained a level of success in certain areas, and because of those successes, have been deemed as universal truths able to be applied anywhere and everywhere. Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true.”

A more recent Fast Company article by Keyanna Schmiedl notes, “’best’ implies there’s only one solution or set of solutions to a problem, and that those solutions should remain unchallenged.” Fraught with potential bias and assumptions, anything claiming to be “best” needs to be questioned and likely reframed or refined. Best for whom? According to whom? When, where and why?

Alternative phrases can offer a less presumptuous, more precise path: what nuance is added if we instead say: recommended practices, proven practices, research-based practices, or promising practices? The words we choose can invite deeper analysis, awareness, adaptation and innovation. I would love to hear your alternatives as well.