Teacher’s Word Ban Sparks Buzz: 32 Forbidden Phrases in the Classroom
This degree of perplexity has been left among the students, and amusement for netizens as an anonymous teacher goes viral by banning 32 slang words in their classroom, causing a controversy worthy on the internet. The list posted on Twitter has received over 30 million views and is still counting.
Frustrated with what they deemed inappropriate English, a teacher from an unnamed school decided to implement a vernacular prohibition list.
Predictably, the much-shared writer claimed that “the nonsense some of you opt for is incorrect English” to account for the noticed higher probability by the scholars using words he deemed ‘inappropriate within an academic environment’ and also harmful to learning.
The prohibited lexicon includes phrases like “Bruh” (teen slang for bro), also “What’s up G Wade?” and ‘bet,’ which the lowest sector of teenagers refer to when using Gen Z speak.
These students are punished with penning a short essay describing why they used these words to address themselves in an academic environment, as stated by the teacher’s message on Twitter. The educator was firm when he said, “This is supposed to be an institution of learning, and one should only act like a scholar while at this place of study.”
Though some critics criticized the teacher for being too tough and on a power trip, others praised this step. One supporter stated, “Would sound like a teacher who cares to me… more than the parents probably.”
On the other hand, critics described this policy as potentially ‘anti-black’ because it seemed to focus on expressions common among African Americans. With such criticism aside, though, some backers proposed a different angle of looking at things, envisaging “Sounds like a black teacher trying to help them and allowing the black kids uplifting.”
During the discussion, a few tweeps could not resist making jokes about it by mockingly using banned slang expressions. This, along with the sharing of thoughts by people who are not only students and teachers but also internet dwellers, is a continuation of an online discourse.