Parents, Teach Your Children Well

Quick story from HPMS yesterday.

So I’m walking into the school at about 3:45  for a 2011-2012  budget work session, when I hear from over my shoulder “Hey mister, nice satchel!”

I immediately thought to myself, “Good call, 13-year-old girl. This is, in fact, a stylish leather shoulder briefcase that I received as a birthday present from my lovely fiance. I like it as well!”

My thought was shattered when one of her friends yelled to me, “(word often used, a.) in a derogatory way to describe a a gay man, b.) to describe a British cigarette, or c.) to describe a small pile of sticks).”

Now I’m not one to shy away from coarse language, as I’m sure anyone here at PCP would attest. I use it too often, I admit. But this one struck me as a bit rough around the edges.

I talked to the girl who yelled “small pile of sticks” to me, who claimed she didn’t yell it at me. I believe she said, “I just yelled it.”

Look it. I was in middle school once too, child, and I know the tricks. Own up to it, though, and maybe we can all learn a lesson.

Or not. Jerks.

(Ed. note- One of her friends was wearing a killer Metallica “…And Justice For All” t-shirt, so I couldn’t be totally mad.)

By Bradford Pearson Mar. 9, 2011 | 4:24 pm | 7 Comments | Comments RSS
7 comments to "Parents, Teach Your Children Well"
  1. mk @ March 9, 2011 at 8:42 pm
    Geez, that’s disheartening. Sorry that happened to you; I’m also surprised that a middle-school kid had the cojones to say something like that to an adult obviously there on school business. Most of our kids here in the Bubble aren’t snarky punks…honest!

  2. Merritt Patterson @ March 9, 2011 at 9:12 pm
    With a shirt like that we could have names and parents called in less than 1 hour.

  3. thekeving @ March 9, 2011 at 9:37 pm
    I am a Park Cities jr. high youth leader, and substitute teach at HPISD schools several times a week. I have the respect of a good number of kids, and spend a lot of time around middle schoolers. BUT you’d be surprised what kids will say. I am always calling kids out for rude/obnoxious comments. (sometimes towards me, sometimes towards others) In fact, I had the “respect adults” talk with a kid just today in the lunchroom of MIS.

  4. XT @ March 9, 2011 at 11:02 pm
    @mk,

    Maybe not “most”, but certainly many, or too many.

    Coach a youth sport in the Park Cities, and you would know what I am talking about. Of course, given the parents behavior towards refs, coaches, and players at youth sports events, I’m not sure that the kids have any role models to emulate.

  5. Avid Reader @ March 10, 2011 at 6:28 am
    Bradford, sorry for their parents lack of parenting skills. On another note, you should post more, I find them very entertaining and well written.

  6. kmom @ March 10, 2011 at 10:34 am
    Too bad Bohac wasn’t in hearing distance, he would’ve handled that PDQ.

  7. bob's mom @ March 10, 2011 at 2:24 pm
    here’s another one to be aware of. that backward peace sign every other kid now flashes means, well, the opposite of peace. the opposite that starts with an F. so if your kid picks that up at MIS like mine did, you might want to put the kibosh on it.

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