No, I'm not talking about any of you. Today, I had a red letter day in my career, as I had to actually send a kid to the office for calling a female student a bitch.
Now, I've never been one to called members of the female species out of their name...well, with the exception of one particularly nasty ex-girlfriend in college that took out my heart stomped on it, put it back in, and hit repeat.
As I was saying, this kid called this chick a bitch, and I had to send him to the office, but this got me to thinking. Pending the connotation, had he have been a gay guy, calling this girl a bitch wouldn't have been that big a deal.
Think about it. When gay guys call girls bitches, its like a couple guys trash talking. So, what's the deal with the double standard? I'm dumbfounded by this, and ashamed that I had to adhere to it, but she was in tears about this (you know how emotional middle schoolers are), and I have to follow the rules.
So, do any of you have any thoughts on the matter?
Launch party
5 years ago
3 comments:
I think your students need to learn that school is not a time to use that kind of language. Most of them are not likely to get jobs where they can call their coworkers names. Many words can hurt and offend in one context and be perfectly fine in another context it is not just swear words. Your student was being disrespectful.
true, but these are only middle schoolers. i doubt they're seriously thinking of their future jobs. i know i wasn't back n those days.
Hey middle school is as good a time as any to learn about appropriate language, and appropriate time and place. If we don't teach them now, when will they learn? For me, it goes for anyone. If a girl called a guy a dick and it upset him, then she should have to go to the office as well.
And for the record, I don't want any gay guys calling me a bitch, either. Fine, if you're joking around once or twice and we all have a laugh. But to be permanently referred to as someone's bitch? No thank you.
I guess some people think that using "negative" words as an endearment reduces the power of that negative word. That's nice in theory, but I'm not convinced it really works. I guess it depends on context and how the recipient of that language feels about it.
It's one of those things people have been debating for ages. :P
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