What do you do when your students regularly use inappropriate terms in the classroom, such as âretardâ or âgay?â Recently, teacher Emily wrote into the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE regarding this issue. âAnyone else feel like youâre fighting a losing battle when it comes to teaching kids not to call each other âretardâ or âgay?â How do you discourage this behavior?â
This is an ongoing issue, Emilyâyouâre not alone. Students in middle and high school often experiment with hateful words. Sometimes they are blind to the meaning and other times their eyes are very much open to what they are saying. Below are tips that teachers have shared to help combat intolerant words in the classroom.
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Show AND tell. âI tell them that it is never acceptable to say that about anyone. Or go with these posters.â âRachel M.
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Nip it in the bud. âThe first day of class I tell them theyâre not allowed to call anyone by any name other than the one their mother gave them. Period.â âChristine L.
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Ask for alternatives. âI make them stop and choose three words they could have used instead. I pause the lesson mid-word and ask them for three alternatives before we can move on.â âKyle A.
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Be blunt. âWhen my high school students say something is gay, I say, âNo, it really doesnât have anything to do with loving someone of the same gender.â Usually I get âewwwâ in response. I think they get the message!â âAnnette B.
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Have them explain the definition. âI ask them if they can give me the proper definition of the word and if they canât, they should not be using a word that they do not know the meaning of.â âSarah M.
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Real-world examples. âI make it more tangible to my 7th grade students by explaining how âgayâ and âretardedâ can affect others who may have gay or intellectually disabled friends or family members. I think giving them real-world, applicable examples helps them stop and think. A hard battle but a worthy one!â âLoren E.
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Discussion time. âOnce a year we have a big class discussion and I tell them to think of a person that is disabled and if they chose to be that way. Then we talk about how itâs unacceptable to use those words as an insult. Itâs typically pretty powerful because of the discussion it prompts.â âKrysten S.
- Keep it simple. âI always tell them, âYou never know who may actually identify as gay at your age, and youâre making them feel bad by using that as an insult.'â âLaura N.
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History lesson. âI humanize it. Explain some of the consequences and history behind the words and what they really mean.â âJe H.
Do you have a suggestion to add? Weâd love to read it in the comments below.