Bad Manners

When I began my teaching career, one of the first things I learned as a teacher was that I'd have to lower my initial standards for behavior expectations.

For example, my pet peeve quickly became the use of the phrase, "that sucks."  

Why? Because I remembered the origin of the phrase.  Back when I was a teenager, the saying was not "that sucks," but a slightly longer version that indicated exactly what part of the male anatomy was sucked.  Does anyone else remember that?  It was crude, it was rude:  it was what the cool guys said when they wanted to impress the bad girls and shock the good ones. 

So one day when "Jason," a 13-year old middle schooler, responded to my pronouncement of a homework assignment with the hated phrase,  I decided to make an example of him by doling out after school detention.

At 3:30PM, I dutifully called Jason's mom to deliver the bad news.

Me:  "Mrs. Jones, this is Jason's teacher calling.  I wanted to let you know that Jason will be staying after school tomorrow."

Mrs. Jones:  "That sucks.  How come?"