“I was really concerned today about the kind of language conversation that the younger kids are overhearing at recess time…
…She was mentioning about Upper Elementary kids using curse words in their conversation and the younger kids are overhearing it and memorizing them very well. She shared this with her elder sister today and that’s how I was notified about it. I asked her how she knows it and spells it. As a parent and teacher we cannot control this but it would be nice to communicate to all the kids to have better use of words so they don’t impact the little kids with this negative effect. I’m sorry but I had to bring this to your attention as I am concerned about mine and all the kids in this wonderful community. Thank you! -NK
Hi NK -
Thank you for sharing this with me. As much as we wish it may be so, not even the Montessori schools are immune to swear words. I appreciate that we take on the realities of life and can have open and honest conversations with children about it all.
Besides the prevalence of the words in our culture & media (and most often simply heard by other children in their homes), the reason children are sometimes attracted to these words is that they are spoken, usually, with big emotion and energy. When I've talked with children in my classroom about these words, I often first acknowledge this point.
Since there is nothing inherently wrong with some of these words (not including slurs, of course), other than that our culture has deemed them crude expressions - there is sometimes an opportunity here to explore the history and etymology of these words.
So then we also of course loop back around to grace and courtesy. What are the reasons these words are considered impolite? What needs to be in our mind when we choose language and the effect on the listener? How does context affect this (work vs. home vs. different families' expectations)? How do these words fit with our own identity and what we want to share with others?
The more the children understand these words and their place in culture, the more empowered they will be to choose their words and understand the implications. We hope!
