As a literacy teacher I used to cringe at the inappropriate use of language. Frankly the slang use of the word "gay" for homosexuals even bothers me because I can remember back to a time when gay simply meant happy and cheerful. Not to say that I do not have many homosexual friends that are happy and cheerful, but I also have many heterosexual friends who are as well.
I was a bear in my classroom about proper use of language. When my students (5th graders) would use slang terminology I would hand them a dictionary and make them look up the meaning of the word they used and then ask them if that is what they meant to express. If it was not they then had the chore of finding the appropriate word to express their meaning.
But then what do you expect? When I taught kindergarten I had children going home telling their parents they wanted to be paleontologists. *snerk* Conference time was always fun when the parents would ask me what a paleontologist was.
It's also a waning skill. I wish ALL teachers called on kids to communicate their ideas with care. If they get into the habit of choosing their words carefully and really thinking ahead of speaking while they are young, they will have that much more success articulating their thoughts and opinions later on in life. (I wish you could have been Josh's teacher!)
I admire your determination, and agree with you 100%. As an English teacher I face this issue too, and this misuse really bothers me. Unfortunately, I sometimes hear the n-word as well, and I have taken to assigning civil rights research instead of some other type of punishment/detention with some success.
We wear different patterns of speach as much as we wear different outfits.
LOVE THAT!!
Also, damn you're smart. That is a brilliant way to approach that.
When my kids were in high school, saying something was 'gay' didn't mean stupid, so that is interesting to me. It was more omg, that's so flamboyant, silly, etc. (not stupid anyway). Over the top. They came to the conclusions on their own not to say that, but they were older. So I love what you told the 7 year olds. I'd love to know if you see an impact there and yeah, treating the word like other words effectively take the 'zing' out of the word. I like it.
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I am right behind you!
As a literacy teacher I used to cringe at the inappropriate use of language. Frankly the slang use of the word "gay" for homosexuals even bothers me because I can remember back to a time when gay simply meant happy and cheerful. Not to say that I do not have many homosexual friends that are happy and cheerful, but I also have many heterosexual friends who are as well.
I was a bear in my classroom about proper use of language. When my students (5th graders) would use slang terminology I would hand them a dictionary and make them look up the meaning of the word they used and then ask them if that is what they meant to express. If it was not they then had the chore of finding the appropriate word to express their meaning.
But then what do you expect? When I taught kindergarten I had children going home telling their parents they wanted to be paleontologists. *snerk* Conference time was always fun when the parents would ask me what a paleontologist was.
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LOVE THAT!!
Also, damn you're smart. That is a brilliant way to approach that.
When my kids were in high school, saying something was 'gay' didn't mean stupid, so that is interesting to me. It was more omg, that's so flamboyant, silly, etc. (not stupid anyway). Over the top. They came to the conclusions on their own not to say that, but they were older. So I love what you told the 7 year olds. I'd love to know if you see an impact there and yeah, treating the word like other words effectively take the 'zing' out of the word. I like it.
Good job there, Teacher. Lucky class.
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