The growth of profanity

Erick Kalenga
Published: August 2, 2008

After many years of serving in this community and working with young people, I have noticed the increase in the use of profanity in the schools.

Our young people are losing the desire to use the proper language in order to express themselves.

This past school year, I spoke with a lot of students and teachers who are very tired of the profanities in the school hallways.

One student said that cursing in the hallways in school has become “normal,” because you hear it so much.

Another student said that everybody does it and nobody can do anything about it.

I spoke to one of the teachers who said that he does not tolerate cursing and he makes sure it doesn’t happen in his classroom or around him.

But this teacher also said that it is difficult to ask a student not to utilize profanity when so many use it in their everyday conversations.

Let’s face it — there a lot of young people who use profanity,  whether it be once in awhile or all the time.

However, there are also a number of youth who would rather use the proper language to say what they want to say.

I believe that the school system has a very strict pol-icy on cursing or the use of profanity in schools.

It is easier to reinforce it in a classroom setting; the challenge is in the hallways.

I believe that it is important to speak appropriately, without using profanity.

If you go look for a job as a responsible citizen and the person interviewing you asks you a question and your response is followed by curse words, I don’t think you would make a very good impression.

I don’t believe that the interviewer would just ignore it and say, “that’s how people talk now so I will still offer you the job.”

The interviewer is more likely to say that profanity would have a negative affect on his or her business.

I believe that this situation is not getting any better, but we need to work toward not making it so widespread.

The media has taken freedom of speech to the extreme. People on television and in movies seem to say whatever they want to say.

In many homes profanity is the way to express yourself. This generation of young people has been influenced by all the bad language the media presents and by the use of curse words by parents, grandparents and legal guardians.

With two high schools this coming school year, I believe that our schools will have a great opportunity to take a very strong approach order to deal with profanity in the school hallways.

I also believe that it will send a strong message to the parents who curse and want to allow cursing in school.

In Hartford, Conn., the schools have decided to address the issue of cursing by instituting a fine for $103 for cursing. The school and local law enforcement have agreed to enforce this new rule as a way of controlling the unnecessary use of curse words.

I believe that parents will start to get tougher on their children when they realize that they have to pay a fine because their children have a hard time controlling they mouths in schools.
My parents would have corrected me very strictly if had to make them pay a fine because I cursed in school.

I believe every community is different and the approach that this county will take may be different. But the issue we are faced with is real and needs to be addressed before it is too late.
I hope and pray this school year will give us and opportunity to do just that.

Erick Kalenga is an independent columnist who appears Sundays in the Star-Exponent. He lives in Madison County.
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