How teachers and students are addressing the use of slurs

By Hugo M.

CATS is currently facing an issue that has not been resolved: the casual use of slurs used by students inside and outside the classroom.

Every day these words, which are often based on race, ethnicity or perceived sexuality or gender, are thrown along casually like a baseball among packed hallways and classrooms.

But the big question remains: What do students and teachers think of the use of slurs in school? 

One teacher provided context as to why students use these words in the first place.

Mr. Monteon, Graphic Design teacher, said that because he grew up in the community, he is very familiar with the culture.

“When it comes to language, in this area, you have to show that because of the area you live in, you have to be tough,” he said.

He explained how he understood why many students can be vulgar with their language. He said, “their specific use of words because they want to show that they are tough.”

Mr. Monteon shared that while students have been greeting each other this way for decades, a lot has changed since then.

He said students need to learn to be more respectful and wary of the way they speak as that could end up offending someone without them knowing it.

“From my experience, when I hear those slurs, the intention is not to offend others, cuz it’s not how what you said, but how you say it,” he explained. “Sometimes there are cruel intentions behind using specific words, but when I hear them, it’s not to necessarily offend.”

Poster in Ms. Ramirez’s room. Photo by Hugo M.

Moreover, other teachers have shared what this usage of words makes them feel in their classrooms, which are supposed to be a safe space for their students.

Ms. Ramirez, 10th grade and AP English teacher, shared that it hurts her to see her students use those words because of the potential ways students can use them to hurt each other.

“I try to uphold respect and kindness in my classroom all the time, so it’s disheartening to see and hear those words,” she said.

“I know that in a lot of cases, it can just negatively affect a lot of my students and their self-confidence and how they feel in my classroom, and I never want them to feel unwelcome in my classroom.”

In addition, students have shared their feelings about hearing their friends use these slurs in school and why they think they use them around them.

Jesse M., a junior, explained why his friends use slurs around him.

He said, “Because that’s how they speak, like, it’s already in their vocabulary. They already use it so they’re not gonna stop.”

He additionally shared how he chooses to not participate because that’s just the way his friends are, and he is not like them.

But with all this talk about slurs, how can they be prevented?

Many teachers have already chosen to take the initiative to prevent these words from entering their classrooms to keep students safe, such as by educating them on why these words have the potential to hurt.

Ms. Ramirez, for example, explained the steps she is currently taking to prevent the use of these words in her classroom, as well as the mutual expectations she has for all her students

“I don’t use those words myself, so I expect them to not use those words either,” she said.

“I think also teaching them the origins of those words and what they mean, and what they can do to people, and how they can make people feel, can make them reflect on their own experience and their own identity in the world in the classroom,” she added.

Mr. Monteon said students and teachers need to be more open to having more conversations about this topic to see positive change.

“If we don’t say anything, it just gets swept under the rug and if we just say ‘well it’s a cultural thing, I know it’s a cultural thing’, yeah, it’s cultural yeah, all this graffiti is a cultural thing,” he said.

“But if we don’t talk about it, if we just talk about it, not be about it, there’s never going to change.”