Teachers weigh swearing controversy
October, 2017
*Names changed for confidentiality
Senior Zach Burke recalls being in his Contemporary Literature class as his English teacher, Tim McDermott, swears to emphasize his lessons and attempt to engage his students.
“If we are reading a book that is very topical on racism, everyone in the class will be avoiding slurs and being awkward, but then [McDermott] will say it and work on that awkward part,” Burke said. “He can say it for us because no one else wants to, but he says it respectfully.”
Although McDermott does not use curse words on a daily basis, he says swearing can help students better understand in-class material. When preparing his class for “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” McDermott discussed the ideas of “social norms” and “social behavior.”
After a few examples, McDermott saw his students did not understand what he was trying to convey. He then explained to them that it is not socially acceptable to drop the “F-bomb” at Starbucks when talking to the barista. Not only did the students understand what “social norms” were, but they laughed and related to McDermott’s example.
Teacher *Wanda Patterson also swears in class to emphasize writings and show emotion. Patterson claims the amount of times she curses is dependent on how passionate she is about the subject being discussed.
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“Swear words are interjections, and their job is to show strong emotion, whether you are angry, or excited, or upset,” Patterson said. “If I’m swearing, I’m either trying to grab everyone’s attention or sometimes translating a passage.”
She swears to motivate people. Patterson even made a bet with one of her students who was late to class almost everyday. The bet involved the student having to be late to class less times than Patterson could swear in a two and a half-week period of time. She ended up swearing 10 times and lost the bet with the student, who was only late to class nine times.
Patterson says the bet really motivated the student and was effective in getting the student to come to class on time.
Although Patterson uses swear words to her advantage, she does admit that using swears does push educational bounds. However, she says students understand her enthusiasm and respond positively. Her goal is to represent how it can be healthy to show natural reactions, even though Patterson says it is important to use curse words sparingly because it does not have the same effect on students when used all the time.
According to Patterson, students aren’t bothered by her swearing because she is not swearing at students, but instead swearing to show her feelings. In addition, she recognizes there are parents who may be bothered by classroom swearing, even though much of the content in school books contain strong language, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Burke’s mother, Amy Burke, believes it becomes inappropriate when teachers swear like “truck drivers,” but recognizes that teachers prepare students for college and the outside world, where curse words are often used. According to Amy, she would be upset if teachers swear so much that their language begins to distract students from learning.
Patterson also admits that any swearing in class is probably too much, and she tries to watch her mouth in the classroom. Because of this, she doesn’t allow her students to swear, but she doubts she is the only teacher who curses.
“Everybody sometimes let things slip, but I think it is good to model good behavior. I do have the rule in the classroom, I tell them, ‘You know the only person in the classroom that gets to swear is me; you guys don’t get to.’ It’s a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kind of thing,” Patterson said. “So if [students] do swear, I tell them, ‘Hey, hey, remember the rule,’ and they all kind of laugh it off.”
Although Patterson and McDermott swear for emphasis, not all teachers do. Math teacher Lisa Halleen never swears in her classroom. She wants to represent herself well and act as a good model for her students. She believes that, by not swearing in the classroom, she gives students the best representation of who she is as a person, both in the classroom and out.
“I just try to be who I am, to the core of my being, both inside and outside the classroom,” Halleen said. “It’s not even on my radar to swear.”
Associate Principal Scott McDermott declined to comment on teachers swearing in class; however, he expresses that students or parents can take any of their concerns directly to origin of the problem. For example, if a student has a problem with a teacher, they can go directly to them and outline their concern.
“If at any point a student feels … that something they are experiencing in class is inappropriate, I think if they can wait until the end of class and address it with the teacher, that’s appropriate,” Scott said. “If it is on the spot ... there is nothing wrong with raising your hand and saying, ‘I need to go see my counselor,’ or, ‘Can I see you in the hall?’”
Zach recalls Tim McDermott both using and reciting swears while discussing “To Kill a Mockingbird” because of the amount of curse words the book contains.
Zach also believes most students do not have a problem with their teachers swearing. According to Zach, students tend to pay more attention and connect more with teachers when they use their language. In his experience, teachers that do swear also tolerate their students to swear to a certain degree because “they aren’t hypocrites about it.”
“[Teachers] can connect with the students more,” Zach said. “It’s like they are actually a person and not just a robot that has to limit themselves. They just casually talk to you.”