All day long I hear: "nigger, fuckin' ugly nigga, bitch, ho, fuck you, fuck this, fuck off, fuckin' stupid fuckin' wait a minute, shut the fuck up, shit, what is this shit, I'm not doin' this shit, this shit is boring, faggit." Need I go on? I hear these words ad-nauseam in the schools I teach in. This is the language that is prevalent among junior high and high school students I work with.

For over 10 years I have been employed as an arts educator and poetry instructor. Meaning, I work with young people in public schools on art and writing projects. It's a low, low, no, no money, high stress position. I am only working with many of these students one-day a week. So, why am I so worn out? I mean, I've gone from a full time teaching position to now trucking my butt around the boroughs of New York to various schools as an education freelancer. I've been teaching for over 10 years. Maybe it's the daily brutal physical acts the students do to each other and threaten to do to their instructors (like "Slap that bitch!", which a student suggested to the student who I was speaking to in the hall), that they walk in and out of the room during classes whenever they want. OK, it's all of that and, and just words. What is really getting to me is the language that most of the young people in schools I work in use on the regular. This is why these classes lately cause my ears to throb painfully for hours after and my mind want to just switch off for a bit.

Could be that I'm just too sensitive about words, language. Being a poet, maybe I'm just all over too pushed up on words. My thing with words and language though is wrapped around the belief that words are engaged in a cause and effect relationship. I see, in the teachers the effects that are caused by the 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, verbal onslaught of profanity, threats, and verbal beat downs, coming out like verbal stun guns, from the mouths of young people in their schools. One of the effects these verbal assaults have on teachers is fatigue. It tires them, zapping their energy. Their energies being used to deal with or ignore the students' profanity, while not losing their temper, and continuing to teach their classes. Some of the teachers seem to have created a bulwark for themselves and are able to ignore even the most disgusting words said by their students. Most of the teachers I've worked with have shown, what I consider, astounding self control in the face of a student's verbal assaults.

When I was a full-time high school art and writing instructor, I would sometimes say to my students, "There are no niggas in this class." I also explained that any use of profanity in English or any other language was not down with me in this class. I further explained that I knew they could find other appropriate words to use and express themselves. I also asked these students what they felt about being called a nigga, bitch, or ho or referring to someone else that way. I was a bit surprised when many of them said they did not like being referred to that way. They added it would also depend on who was speaking to them. I asked them if they would be comfortable with me or their other teachers referring to them using any of the words I asked them to refrain from. A resounding "NO!" "Do you think that people should be able to speak however they want, no matter where they are?" Some of my students answered thoughtfully, saying that they speak differently to their friends than they speak with members of their families. BOOM! They were able to acknowledge that they did adjust their language to different situations. When I asked them if they felt capable and comfortable of adjusting the way they speak to different situations, most said "Of course!" When I asked them why they did not feel they should do this in school, I was met with a resounding silence, then nervous laughter, and lip sucking sounds. I ended this discussion with "I believe you control your mouth and the language you choose to use."

While this discussion was fruitful and contributed to creating a more relaxed learning environment in those classes, profanity still thundered down the schools hallways. In this school a teacher could write a report if a student continued to obsessively use profanity when they were asked to stop. Later the same school established a student voted disciplinary board made up of students and two teachers to address students who accumulated three or more reports for varied offenses and suggest and plan ways to help the students improve.

The teachers that I have spoken to say they do not feel that there are any real consequences to the foul language attacks they hear, or that are directed toward them. Some of the students here have privately expressed to me that they do feel insults and profanity spewed by their peers in school is out of control, but they don't think it's going to be stopped. As one student said, "They (students) don't care about what they say. They got no respect."

I interviewed some teachers and paraprofessionals (they assist the disabled or special needs students in my classes) in the school I work in. I was hoping to interview some of their students but during my interview with one teacher in her class her students (of which there were only five) became so agitated and insulting. One student, who I had said nothing to other than "hello", called me a " fuckin' bitch!", another screamed at me to get out of her class. Another student continued to jump up on a chair behind me and make faces and lewd hand signals behind my head. The paraprofessional had spent seven minutes trying not to chase this student who was running around the room, yelling at him, cursing and insulting him and the teacher. He eventually had to grab the student down from the inside windowsill he had jumped up on. The student was still cursing and insulting him as he tried to get the student to calm down and return to his seat. Let's just say, I didn't get those student interviews. Eventually, I was able to do short interviews with the teacher and paraprofessional who gave some insight as to how they deal with this type of language from their students. I will have some student comments in the coming weeks.

After my teaching day and stressful last interviews I headed homeward. I was riding on the subway when a group of high school girls entered the car loudly. They conversed and cursed loudly. I mean loudly. I was at least ten feet away but could hear their words above the rumblings of the train. One of the girls said, "You two bitches must be havin' your period the way you acting! (An older woman who had been sitting near the obnoxious group gave up her seat to move away from them and stand.) One of the other girls, laughing loudly at her friend's comment said, "Oh, listen to you talkin' that way. You know people can hear you!" Her friends reply (nice and loud), "I don't give a fuck! None these people payin' me or nothing!" They continued to talk loudly and let their loud profanity flood like diarrhea throughout the train car. Much to my chagrin, I find it more and more difficult to excuse their words.

I'd like to hear from those of you here and abroad about this topic. I'd also like to hear about how this type of language from young people is addressed, or not, in your schools or public areas.