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Bruh, These Words are Off Limits in One Teacher’s Classroom

Some on social media think this teacher's list of prohibited words is a violation of her student's freedom of speech.

A teacherโ€™s list of words prohibited in her classroom has gone viral, and social media is divided on whether or not the memo was helpful or racist.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

โ€œIf you are caught using these words, you will write a short essay explaining why you chose to use these words in an academic setting to express yourselves,โ€ the teacher writes before listing the 32 words considered off limits. โ€œPlease know that using slang in an academic setting can diminish your capability to become a successful writer.โ€

https://twitter.com/hearts4zaniyahh/status/1743791713506730345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

โ€œBruh,โ€ โ€œstanding on business,โ€ โ€œon my mommaโ€ and the 2023 Oxford Word of the Year, โ€œrizzโ€ โ€” a shortened version of โ€œcharismaโ€ โ€” are just a few of the frowned upon words and phrases on a list the teacher says is โ€œsubject to change. Itโ€™s also important to note that the โ€œN-wordโ€ is featured at number 21.

โ€œThis is an educational institution and you will carry yourselves as scholars in my classroom,โ€ the teacher wrote.

The teacherโ€™s race is unclear in any of the discussions online. But social media was quick to fire back, accusing the list of being anti-Black and the teacher of attempting to extinguish the studentโ€™s freedom of speech.

โ€œโ€‹โ€‹Sheโ€™s on a power trip & and doesnโ€™t value the language of her students. She is more concerned with compliance than learning about her students, because she does not value her studentsโ€™ identities,โ€ wrote one commenter on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Others believe the teacher simply wants to set the students up for success by encouraging good grammar in the classroom.

โ€œI agree with this method (not all of the words, though) & Iโ€™m not sorry. Kids donโ€™t know when to use this language & this will teach them to think before they speak, know time & place for everything, & to respect adults,โ€ wrote another commenter on X.

Yes, kids should know that there is a time and a place for slang, but punishment is not an appropriate response to self-expression. Some of the most celebrated books in American literature include African American Vernacular English (AAVE), including Alice Walkerโ€™sย โ€œThe Color Purpleโ€ and Toni Morrisonโ€™s โ€œBeloved.โ€

Oh, and white people do it too. If you donโ€™t believe me, all you have to do is pick up a copy of โ€œThe Catcher in the Rye.โ€ I dare someone try to say J.D. Salingerโ€™s use of slang diminished his capability to become a successful writer.

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