This morning, as my homeroom students were organizing their binders to prepare for the day and the week ahead, I overheard one of them use what sounded like inappropriate language. "What did you say?" I asked him sternly from across the room where I was assisting someone else.
He repeated himself with no remorse what so ever. I was confused, and certain that I must have heard him wrong, so I stepped over there and asked him again. "What did you say?"
He said it again, and then I said it. "Did you say 'Oh shit'?" I asked.
"Yeah," he told me, still with no sign of distress.
Of course our conversation had drawn the attention of everyone in the room, and there were several stares and a few giggles. It took me a minute, but I finally considered that this student, a second language learner who has only been in the country a little over a year, might not understand what he was saying.
"Do you know what that means?" I asked him, watching closely for any indication that his response might be dishonest.
"No," he answered, finally with some alarm, and I believed him.
"Well," I told the class, "I guess this is a good example of why we should make sure we know what we're saying."
There were nods of agreement as they turned back to their binders.
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