Wurdy durds in school.Follow

I don't recall any obligation to be interesting or unbiased, and you don't honestly expect me to consider your opinions when I'm posting. I mean, not you, specifically. Anyone else who's ever actually made a meaningful contribution to a discussion I participated in, maybe. Someone who thinks himself above a discussion based on the wording of the OP but who's initial reaction isn't to just move the fuck along, no. Someone who actually has something constructive to say, possibly. Someone who seems to just like flinging **** wherever he drunkedly stumbles, no.

The opposite of this statement was the story of my life from 3-18.

I don't think kids should be allowed to swear in school/class/whatever. Of course they are still going to do it at school, but the vast majority of people swear at some point, with some swearing alot more than others. I also think they should be punished for swearing, and the only seemingly acceptable way I can see to do this is to make them do something they find boring, repeatedly.

The reason I think they should be punished is to get them in the practice of not swearing in a formal, public place and I can't think of any other way to get a point that needs to be stressed across to your average teenager when it comes to what they can and cannot do. I personally know a few people who swear without thinking and it does seem to be a hard practice to get out of once you're in it. So if we teach them not to be in it in the first place then they won't have the problem of having to visibly control themselves when they first go into a workplace or an interview or somewhere else that requires others respect for you to succeed.

I don't really think certain words should be chosen out as being "worse" than others, because it's really the tone of the conversation in which the word is used. But I do think that if the teacher finds the word is being used in an offensive manner then they should have every right to punish the kid whether or not the offensive manner was intended. After all, no one can tell how anti-swearing their first interviewer may be so even the strictest of teachers won't be in the wrong. Of course teachers aren't perfect and some will abuse this priveledge (sp?) but I suppose we just have to trust the teacher to be mature about it.

Of course kids are always going to test your limits with whatever rules you put in place, but you can't help that, kids are like that by nature. So as pointless as it seems at the time and as much as punishment doesn't seem to stop them breaking your rules, it should still get the point across to them that they can't swear in formal environments. Hopefully they'll keep this information in the back of their heads and if they don't practice it straight away, hopefully they will later in life.

Sorry if my response seems like I'm stating the obvious, but it seems like it's what you were asking for so...

I think there is a time and a place for certain types of language. My plan is to allow my children, once they're a little older (say, pre-teen and up, about the age most kids actually start swearing) to use "minor" swear-words ("damn" and "pissed off" for instance) with little to no repercussion, but I would make sure to emphasize that in public, such words should be used sparingly, if at all, because they make some people uncomfortable, especially when they're hearing the words from young people.

"Moderate" swear-words, like "sh'it" and "*****" can be used in the home, so long as they are not used in a disrespectful manner (for instance, if Tristan ever called his theoretical little sister a ***** in my hearing, he'd get in trouble. If he told her "quit ************** however, he wouldn't. If he called any adult woman a *****, he'd get in big trouble. If he called ME a *****, I'd put him through a wall.) I would emphasize that these words should not be used in public until my children are adults because, again, it makes some people very uncomfortable to hear them and therefore would be disrespectful to use them in "mixed company."

"F'uck" will not be allowed (and this includes myself and my husband, something we are working on) because it's just too easy a word to abuse. Neither will very denigrating terms such as "cnut" be allowed.

As for school, since that falls under the realm of a "public" place, again I will emphasize that swearing should be used sparingly if at all, and should NEVER be directed at a teacher. But again, this is situational. If he were to say, "I don't understand this damn homework" when a teacher asks if there's a problem, the teacher might be a little upset, and if the teacher complained to me, I would sit the kid down for a talk and reinforce the rules on language in public. If he cusses a teacher out, however, again, I'll put him through a wall.

The point of this ramble is that my emphasis will not be so much on what kind of language is used, so much as the fact that boundaries of propriety and respect are observed. Nothing annoys me more than to see two 13-year-olds on a bus sitting next to some little old lady, saying "f'uck this" and "sh'it that" while the old lady gets more and more uncomfortable. Children should NOT be let out of the house until they understand that there is a time and place for everything, including language, and the language you use when alone with your friends (let's face it, kids swear up a storm with each other because they're trying to impress each other with how daring and grown-up they are) is NOT the language you use where others can hear.

Until you have to nurse, that is.

I personally don't give a fuck if anyone curses as long as it's not directed at me. I say "Goddamnit" all the time, and I don't even consider it a curse word when MTV will broadcast Diddy not only wearing this, but making it his new motto.

Come to think of it, it's a pretty decent motto.

I can restrain myself if I pay attention, but I love foul language and savor it like fine chocolate whenever I do get out a particularly bilious curse. I take more offense at people who have little to no grasp of the language and use curse words as verbal filler, not unlike "um's", but a well-turned curse with just the right amount of vinegar is a beautiful thing.

I, too, am sick of Prohibition-era agents getting all up in my grill and trying to take away my malt liquor.

One of the people that is in my groups today said she doesn't take it personally when someone calls her a "B-word" (her wording) I then remarked that if someone calls me a "b-word" I say thank you.

since we were in a public setting, I didn't use the word 'Bitch'. I also understand, why my oldest called one of her teachers in 8 grade a Bitch, under her breath. I also agreed that the teacher was right in sending her to the office and suspended. She was caught in class, reading a book inside her text book.

True story.

The other day in the car Mia was randomly throwing out letters to a tune she had made up in her head.

Her: "A, L, P, B, C, U, N, T..."

Me: Hahahaha!

Disallowing language is a sure fire way to make sure your kid will use the word as soon as you're out of earshot.

Language usage is one of those things that REALLY lends itself to leading by example and REALLY backfires with the "do as I say and not as I do" theory.