Posted on 04/12/2005 10:06:43 AM PDT by crv16
Dan Horwich's English class is a bastion of clean language, where students read the classics and have weighty discussions free of invective and profanity. But when the bell rings and they walk out his door, the hallway vibrates with talk of a different sort.
"The kids swear almost incessantly," said Horwich, who teaches at Guildford High School in Rockford, Ill. "They are so used to swearing and hearing it at home, and in the movies, and on TV, and in the music they listen to that they have become desensitized to it."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It's all in the delivery. Or maybe the usage - "French Eye for the Straight Guy" has a certain ring to it....
While I mostly agree with you, the vast success of the athiest liberals of injecting their secular values (or lack thereof) into the public school system makes it an environment where kids of very good, disciplining parents are going to be exposed to the garbage that our liberal friends love so much.
Begin flood of home schooling posts in 3...2...1
On a side note, in addition to foul language being cool in both genders, I understand from my 16 year old daugther that it is becoming the in thing for the chicks to fart loudly when they are hanging out together.
I thought that was man ground that would never be encroached by the fairer sex.
> Most of the barnyard, sexual, and body part swear words are the ones that come from German origin.
In Victorian times, polite people would never refer to a dress with mud on it as "dirty," but as "soiled." Dirt was derived from the Norse "drit," which meant excrement. As it became an English word, it maintained a strong negative connotation. That connotation is now largely gone, and one can say "dirt" in polite company.
The same will happen with all the expletives used today. That's just the way of things.
Parents, friends' parents, people on the street and even prime time TV cuss in front of them. Is it any wonder?
Good Lord almighty, parents, why do you think God gave us mouth-sized bars of soap?
Stand in a bathroom for 30 seconds with a bar of Dial in your mouth, and you won't say bad words where Mom can hear 'em for a LONG time.
You haven't answered my question. How does the rampant use of expletives make us better, nobler, or smarter?
> do it all you like, but I'm not going to hang around while you do so.
That's fine. I can't stand the weak-stomached.
I work with someone who it is embarassing to even have a conversation with sometimes. There are times when he will be having an otherwise serious workplace discussion with someone yet he cannot help but swear constantly. And I'm not just talking about a word here and there; he will literally swear so much that maybe one out of every five words will NOT be a swear word. To be honest, it makes him look like a complete idiot and a joke in front of everyone, even though he is pretty well educated and has a degree.
Now, imagine how dumb kids out of HS who talk like this will look and tell me how it's no big deal.
> Good Lord almighty
Ooops. Taking the Lord's name in vain...
When I was teaching freshman English at the University of Houston, part of my first-day talk was the detail that I expected standard English to be spoken in my classroom and to be used on all assignments.
Standard English did not include what was then called "standard black English," or Ebonics, which I forbade along with students' native languages.
When you're in my English class, you speak English.
> How does the rampant use of expletives make us better, nobler, or smarter?
It doesn't. But then, neither does the rampant use of Doritoes snack chips. Does the use of the word "automobile" make you better, nobler, or smarter?
I'll leave it to the Liberals to want to ban anything not "uplifting."
Ping
Depends on the business. Lawyers tend to avoid swearing, though there are certainly exceptions. Many bankers can outswear a sailor. I've known female investment bankers whose language would make a Marine drill sargeant blush.
It comes down to context. You don't use the same language when visiting your grandmother that you would use in a sports bar.
How does the use of any language make us better, nobler, or smarter? Language only conveys ideas, and "foul" language, like any other, conveys an idea. Like it or not, the phrase "gosh dang" conveys a much different idea than its foul-mouthed counterpart.
Do people swear a lot? Yeah. Is it a big deal? Not really.
I knew there had to be a catch! Vulgar language has become so accepted in our society it isn't a surprise that teachers have given up trying to do anything about it. My grandfather (who died before I was born) always said profanity was the sign of a limited vocabulary. I believe he was right.
Open mouth, insert soap.
Hey, wait, I can say what I want. Mom's not here!
And Doritos shouldn't be allowed in class, either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.