1-800-Cus-Word

I love teaching the Middle School Age children!  They are finding themselves and other selves and just really finding out what life is all about.  I like to think I can make a difference, but sometimes you just wonder.  I tell them every year that I can teach a monkey to do math (and then I demonstrate with my hands 1 + 1, beat my hands together, hold up 2).  They are always impressed with that.  Then I say I want to teach them to understand math, meta cognition, think about your thinking.  Sometimes a student will just let a cuss word slip here.  They just can't help it.  Love math, think about math, understand math...the woman is crazy.  If they only knew!  When I hear that first curse word, I always tell them my husband is a Baptist Preacher and he really doesn't want me around cursing.  So, he taught me this poem and I want them to remember it:
Don't Cuss! 
Call Gus!
He'll cuss for all of us!
Strangely they like that and they'll remind each other or say, "Call Gus" or something along those lines almost every time.  I don't think I've ever in twenty years written a student up for cursing.  I just don't hear it.  Some may think me deaf...anyway. 
 One year I had 17 students for three hours.  This was a group of students that had "fallen behind" for some reason.  One big reason was their behavior.  They were a rough bunch.  But I loved them...Some of them were absolutely precious to me...some of them were savable...some were not.  One graduated from high school with honors and one is in prison for life.  You never know how it's going to turn out, so you just give it your all and love them as much as possible.  Anyway back to the story, as always first or second day of school, some child said a big old curse word.  All the class looked at me, what will she do...I told them my poem.  Told them to write it down and memorize it.  Then continued teaching math.  A month or so later "Joelathem" came into  the classroom an hour late and very disheveled.  I took one look at him and knew he was having a rough morning and if I wasn't careful it could work into a rough day for all of us.  So I gently asked him, "Joe are you alright?  Can I help you?"  His reply, "Ms. Evans, I need that phone number."  I shook my head and looked at him, had no idea what he was talking about until Lil' Richie spoke up, "I know it!  It's 1-800-Cus-Word!"  Joe then asked if he could go to the phone...Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow and enjoy the ride!

"Ain't gonna be no cussin' here!"