Should Students Be Allowed to Swear
October 12, 2022
Free speech is something that is outlined in our Constitution, granted to us by the first amendment right. However, everyone knows that “freedom of speech” does still have limitations, you cannot threaten others or do anything that deliberately smears another person who is out of the public eye. Swear words are not included in these laws or provisions in the slightest, yet when you come to school every day you are expected to use “respectful language,” meaning don’t swear. But does the school really have the authority to put limitations on what words you’re allowed to say, as long as they are not posing any sort of harm to others?
Limitations on curse words have historically caused a long debate, even outside of schools. The Supreme Court Case from 1942, Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire, was the first to set such limitations. Mr. Chaplinsky had openly criticized the on duty police officer of his town after seeing him do something that Chaplinsky found to be unsavory, and used curse words to call him out. Chaplinsky was then arrested for violating New Hampshire’s law regarding insulting police officers, but appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court stating that the law violated his first and fourteenth amendment rights. The Supreme Court decision said words that are “lewd and obscene…profane…libelous, and insulting or ‘fighting words,’” are not protected under the first amendment, as they may not imply intent to cause physical harm but when they were said they were intended to cause emotional harm. There have been a number of Supreme Court cases since then that further outline what exactly “fighting words” are, you can find them linked below the citations. However these cases still do not define whether or not you are allowed to use profanity in a way that is not intended to cause emotional harm to other people, still forcing us to ask the question, should students be allowed to swear in school?
The simple answer would be no; but the reasoning can seem somewhat convoluted at times, so I’m going to explain it in the way that best makes sense to me. High school students are generally not offended by curse words, yet this does not mean that all high school students are not offended by hearing swear words. Some may have heard them in settings that were traumatic for them, causing bad memories to be raked to the surface when they hear them in school. Others may follow a religion very closely, and there are a number of various religions that prohibit the use of profanity in your vocabulary. This may make it uncomfortable for them to be around students who use swear words because they may feel shame or like they are doing something wrong by being around them even though they cannot control what others say. Another reason is that schools are intended to be shaping you into an educated and employable person, and as most are aware swearing is generally frowned upon in the workplace or whenever you are needing to show respect to someone. However, this does not mean that swearing is NEVER okay, sometimes students do not know how they’re feeling and feel like using curse words is the only way to do that. Students also may not recognize the meaning and value of their words, and may simply need the reason why these words can be hurtful to others explained to them. I’m sure most everyone reading this has stubbed their toe or slipped or made a mistake and dropped an f bomb or something similar unintentionally as well, and no one should be punished for an honest mistake. Yet it is still important to ensure that we have a safe and healthy learning environment where all students feel comfortable.
Citations:
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire | The First Amendment Encyclopedia
Profanity | The First Amendment Encyclopedia.
Is The F-Word Ever OK In The Classroom? : NPR Ed
The Need for an Effective Obscenity and Profanity Policy
Other cases:
Cohen v. California | The First Amendment Encyclopedia
R.A.V. v. St. Paul | The First Amendment Encyclopedia – content warning: talks of racism, religious violence
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Maura & Abby • Mar 28, 2023 at 9:44 am
My friend and I think that kids should not be allowed to do the BIG WORDS in school like well you know, but they should be allowed to say the little words like well you know so let your emotions out and express your feelings.
Peregrine Perkins • Oct 24, 2022 at 11:03 pm
I agree that profanity is a nuanced topic. Swearing is frowned on in certain contexts, like in the workplace or other places with higher standard of propriety than your friend group. This discussion also depends on what you consider “swear words.” Even so, her point still stands that swearing in certain contexts should be considered. I also think that it’s interesting that, for a certain group of adults in the school, this is their workplace and their tolerance for swear words in the aforementioned workplace category depends from person-to-person.
Kaydalyn Fowler • Oct 24, 2022 at 7:48 pm
I agree with Molly, she covers the point that in some situations swearing may not be acceptable but at the same time people may accidentally swear. In school it may not always be appropriate because of religion and trauma but also because there are kids around and this may get them into bad habits growing up. Overall I totally agreed with Molly though.
Lilly Jessop • Oct 24, 2022 at 10:39 am
Students should not be aloud to swear, it prepares them for their future job and can expand their vocabulary
Haleigh Hansen • Oct 24, 2022 at 9:58 am
I believe that explicit language in school can be used but in the right context. Some words are used educationally like health class or learning racist slurs that have a history behind them. Other words are used out of frustration that I think should be able to be used if said only to yourself. Other than that, explicit words should be prohibited from school if used in harmful ways.
Ryan Shellenberger • Oct 21, 2022 at 1:48 pm
I personally think that we should be able to swear in school but at the same time not because some words can be offensive to some people because of their religion.
Peregrine Perkins • Oct 24, 2022 at 10:55 pm
This is not what was said. Some religions, such as Christianity, prohibit the use of any swear words. This does not mean they think the f-word is a direct affront to them as people, like a racial slur, but that such words are generally not used.
Taylor Garrison • Oct 21, 2022 at 1:12 pm
I agree with molly 100 percent. She proved a good point by saying the school shouldn’t be able to tell you which words to use and not use but i like that she also argued that statements a little bit by stating that it could be offensive in certain situations because of religion or trauma.