Gosh darnit!

Today was all about the "cursing." But you have to understand that in the first grade mind, a curse word can range from the severe (all your four-letter favorites) to just about anything that is even mildly offensive to a seven year old (dumb, stupid, shut up).

At recess, some girls came to my desk to tell me that another girl was cursing. "What did she say?" I asked. A girl leaned closer and said, "She said the F-S word." Okay, I just had to know. "What's the F-S word?" The girl dropped her voice to a whisper. "She said the movie was freakin' scary."

Ah, to be seven again.

Later, a boy came to me, horrified, to say that the same girl was cursing at him. "Now what did she say?" I demanded. "She called me gay!" he said.

Needless to say, a note went home to her mommy.

In second grade, a girl told Miss W that someone cursed. "She said F-U-C-K!" This from a girl who failed her last three spelling tests.

Then after school, I went to pick up my CCD kids. The after-school program (CARES) also meets down there, and I saw one of my first graders sitting alone. I talked to the CARES teacher and found out that she called a 5th grade girl a bitch. When I asked the girl to tell me what happened, she said, "But she cursed first! She called me a dork!"

Sheesh, I don't know what's gotten into them lately. Maybe it's the weather. I'd better start praying for an early spring. :)