The linked article is from the Washington Post, and it discusses the growing prevalence of swearing among children. I will be the first to admit that I swear far too much, and I need to cut back. Way back. It’s an easy habit to slip into, and I can see how it is difficult to stop children from swearing.
Kate is a teacher and deals with this every day (god bless her). The article makes some interesting points not only about the inappropriateness of the behavior, but also the effects it is having upon the English language itself. What’s the solution? No idea.
I concur!! I teach these same kids that Kate teaches … and even the really, really nice kids swear a lot. I often get things from my students like, “Oh, fu… I mean, darn!” And then they smile and get all proud that they didn’t actually say the word out loud. I tell them that it’s scary that they use the language so much outside of school that they can’t control their mouths in school. They think it’s all funny. I haven’t read the article yet, but might do so … and then might share it with my homeroom.
I thought the Property Owners’ Burden Rising article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44858-2005Apr11.html
was interesting. Property taxes have more than doubled for me since moving into a townhouse in Loudoun County. Getting statements from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, I know I’m one of those people paying over $4,000/year in property taxes.
According to the article, the lion’s share of my taxes is going towards teachers. While I’m happy to see they’re getting paid better, I’m not too amused that 1,900 students (up from 1,200 students) can’t speak English upon entering school. Loudoun County cites “No Child Left Behind” and non-English students requiring more attention and better pay.
Okay – I won’t argue about teacher pay or % of budget toward teachers … as I’m obviously biased. But I don’t quite understand why you don’t like when students enter school not speaking English. There’s no way to control that. There are certain counties that are seeing a greater influx of immigrant families than they have in the past. Thus, they need to provide English language training for those children. And, yes, that takes some extra cost. It’s similar to the need to spend more money for programs for students with disabilities … physical, mental, emotional, etc. Or for students who come from families with problems. There are lots of reasons a school will spend more money on one child than on another. It’s kind of like a doctor who will spend more time with a patient who is more ill. A healthy person needs less from their doctor. A student who has fewer needs will not require as much $$ from the school system.
Oh, and “NCLB” is costing every county a lot of money. There are MANY changes that need to take place because of that law.