A Teacher swears. Students don’t care. Parents hear about it. Parents are offended.

On and on it goes. Granted, it is unprofessional, and it’s not good. But is this a relevant issue? I doubt it. Before I observe the relevancy of this issue, I want to take a hard look at how teachers are disciplined should they swear. When asked, Mr. Bennett said that a teacher who swore would be in violation of their M.O.U, or Memo of Understanding. Well, that’s all well and good, but what is the penalty? What is the punishment? What weight does an M.O.U. bear? Granted, I have yet to hear of a teacher swearing repeatedly, and that provides a fairly strong defense for the M.O.U’s strength and weight. However, one strong argument is a far cry from a verified proof.

Personally, if a teacher swears in my presence, on the job, I don’t care, and I believe that many students share this opinion. You could even say that it makes them seem more human to me, and as such, it might just help me relate to them, and what they are teaching. As such, if slipping up now and then should help teaching, then stopping them would not be irrelevant, it would hamper the teaching process.

This doesn’t mean they should drop a-bombs and f-bombs like it’s Word War III, or insult students right and left. But should they slip up every once in a while, it shouldn’t be the cause of shock, offense and gossip. Rather, it should be taken as an expression of their humanity.

By the same token, students who swear every once in a while shouldn’t be subjected to harsh judication by teachers. However, if every third word coming from a student’s mouth needed to be bleeped out of a movie, then, and only then, he should be subject to the will of the teacher. Then it would be justified, and then it would be relevant.

Mr. Heinrich has a different view. His view might be considered a little nobler, or even more expectant of his fellow man. He is absolutely against swearing, and believes that teachers who do so role model swearing for their students. He also believes that if a teacher should swear, he/she doesn’t have the right to tell others not to.

Such a view is good and sound, but I am not sure if it is practical. However, since it has been established that swearing is unprofessional, a teacher’s paycheck could reflect his behavior. That, I believe, would validate Mr. Heinrich’s point of view.