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Re: At Competition
When I call students on their needless use of profanity at school, they always respond, "Sorry Mr. Brett"
I have to explain that they don't need to be sorry to me. They aren't using any words that I haven't heard before or offending me in any great fashion. Rather they are making themselves appear uneducated and uncreative by failing to use the appropriate adjectives, verbs and nouns to appropriately describe their feelings. In the process they are devaluing profanity.
There hasn't been a build season yet where I haven't let slip, around students... boys and girls (haven't quite figured out why that matters, but, as they say... whatever...) with a frustrated, quiet, but clearly audible curse. It usually happens somewhere around the fourth week, and rarely happens more than once.... and it captures attention.
Swearing is a matter of supply and demand... swear all the time about nothing and the words mean nothing, curse rarely, and for the right reason, and the words have power.
Helping young people to learn when it is appropriate to curse, and when it is not, is just one of the many aspects of education that never appear in the curriculum guides.
Jason
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