Crimson words have become a proof for checking for bullying

Teacher communities increasingly cut through complaints about the “terrible language of communication” of today’s students. Firstly, children in a normal conversation do not hesitate to use expressions that made port loaders blush 25-30 years ago. Secondly, “this wild slang of theirs!” “Go fast, Marya Ivanovna,” says the student, which is why the latter “precipitates” …

“Children are rude”, “it is impossible to communicate with them”, “I don’t understand what they are saying” are common complaints of today’s educators. “Even in the school chat, a farce was bred, they write rubbish there.” Ears roll up into a tube – how can you talk about Natasha Rostova, and in general, “sow the reasonable, kind, eternal”? ..

Yes, you listen to their parents, – colleagues echo the angry teacher. Parents themselves say and write such things that it is immediately clear that an apple will not roll back from an apple tree.

“I myself grew up in a working-class district of St. Petersburg,” a participant in the discussion shares his personal story. – It is clear that the punks “in the area” did not shine with good manners. Many have been smoking since high school, there was a mat-peremat. But it never occurred to any of us to swear at the teacher!

However, as a rule, such discussions do not go beyond a splash of emotions. Solutions for how to curb the new generation of verbal expressions have not been found. Someone advises “to force push-ups after each mat like in the army”, others nod at popular bloggers. Like, teenagers are always obsessed with “coolness”, and bloggers are undoubtedly modern opinion leaders. You just listen to them! And in schools they speak the way their idols speak. And if chats to the teacher can still be moderated, then you can’t put a scarf on your mouth …

“As for Russian swearing, over the past two decades it has gradually migrated from taboo vocabulary to the spoken language,” says philologist Irina Minina. – Now, neither in films, nor in songs, cinema or theater, communication “on a mat” surprises anyone. Even if there, according to the plot, we are not talking about declassed elements, but about ordinary people.

On the other hand, back in the 1970s, it was fashionable to virtuoso use of obscene constructions among the intelligentsia, especially the artistic and humanitarian ones. Even in other countries, among the representatives of bohemia, there was a fashion for the Russian mat. Therefore, now, perhaps, such vocabulary has simply ceased to be the prerogative of closed communities, from thieves to intellectual elites. Reduced vocabulary has become common. And personally, I do not see in this some kind of moral decadence or other sign of the degradation of the language.

About what to do if strong expressions break from children’s lips, and how a teacher can understand modern teenagers, “MK” talked with psychologist Evgenia Tsvetova.

“As for slang, whether we like it or not, the teacher should also be in the subject,” Evgenia believes. – Now on the Web there are a lot of dictionaries of modern slang, from which it is easy to find out that the same “fast go” “in translation” means “go fast, move somewhere.” And what is “cringe” (shameful, shameful. – here and further auth.), “roll” (laugh), “chill” (rest, do nothing), “proof” (evidence, facts) and so on. Basically, these are tracing papers from English, so linguists and maps are in hand. But it may be interesting for both Slavists and other teachers, like learning the language of “a young and unfamiliar tribe”. No one encourages adults to talk like that, of course, but it is useless to be indignant. Remember, at least, what righteous condemnation was once subjected to the words and expressions of your youth, such as “hangout”, “split”, “get high” or “fall out of the sediment”. Even the word “seams” was considered obscene once, in the 19th century…

With the mat, of course, the situation is more complicated. As a psychologist, I note that in addition to the natural desire at this age to appear older and be cooler, mate as a form of verbal aggression can be a defensive reaction. Simple aggression, anger is the reverse side of fear, insecurity.

If a teenager flaunts obscene language and uses it even in relation to the teacher, for the teacher this is a reason not to faint, but a signal to help the child. Find out how things are at home, in the family. Find out if he is being bullied in class or somewhere else, if there is bullying.

If the problem is massive in the class, I advise you to spend a class hour on the topic. Directly naming the problem is half the battle, the forbidden fruit is sweet, as you know. I would also advise making it clear to teenagers that their statements “below the belt” are ridiculous in their inconsistency. Everything that does not contribute to steepness immediately loses its charm at this age.

“In general, the perception of swearing in our society today has a clear generational qualification,” Evgenia continues. “Young people and the middle generation freely use swear words, this is a consequence of the general emancipation of society. But the older generation still strictly links the use of obscene words with the level of culture of the interlocutor. For the elderly, a swear word is often equal to an insult.

If the teacher belongs to the older generation, then the reduced vocabulary on the part of the students seriously hurts him. It seems to me that here the task of parents, the parent committee is how to explain to schoolchildren the need to spare the nerves of an elderly teacher.