Have your kids ever complained about foul language in the classroom? I’m not talking about cuss words coming out of the mouths of teenagers. I’m talking about teachers. I know I’ve heard the complaints from my own children, and contacting the school has often yielded no changes. Apparently, an Arizona state senator has had enough of the practice and has proposed legislation to put a stop to teachers cussing in the classroom.
As noted in the Associated Press story on GOPUSA, “State Sen. Lori Klein introduced the measure because a parent in her district complained about a high school teacher using foul language.” The bill would “punish public school teachers if they use words that violate the obscenity and profanity guidelines set forth by the Federal Communications Commission.”
The words were “totally inappropriate,” and teachers that don’t keep their language clean aren’t setting a good example for students, she said.
“You’re there to be educated,” Klein said. “You’re not there to talk smack.”
Critics say the bill is unnecessary and any discipline needed should be handled by schools and districts, not the Legislature.
Here’s a question? What FCC guidelines would serve as the reference? Has anyone out there watched prime time network television lately? You hear just about every word under the sun. This is such a pet peeve for me, and it goes right up my spine. It’s just like when I take my kids to see a PG-13 movie and some character shouts out the F-word. Apparently, based on today’s movie guidelines, it’s ok to use the F-word to refer to a person, just not an act, and that it can only be used once. Wow! Are you kidding me?
So, it’s ok to say that in front of kids based on some kind of decency guidelines? That sure sounded like a command to action to me!
Ok, back to the topic at hand… according to the news story, “if the bill becomes law, a teacher whose speech or conduct violates FCC regulations would receive a warning, and after three incidents, the teacher would face a week of suspension without pay. A teacher would be fired after the fifth offense.”
Klein told the Senate committee Wednesday that she wished the issue could be left to school boards, but she didn’t feel they were protecting “young, impressionable kids” from offensive language.
What do you think? Should this be left up to local school boards, or is state legislation necessary. All I know is that I’m 100% in favor of getting profanity out of the classroom. If principals and school boards get the job done, more power to them!
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