A teacher has posted on social media a list of 32 slang words and phrases that they have banned from use in the classroom.
The anonymous teacher posted the list, which contain many used regularly by Gen Z, including a warning that any transgression will be punished by the student having to write an essay explaining they chose to express themselves in that way in an academic setting.
Words and phrases on the banned list included ‘bruh’, ‘big dawg’, ‘just vibe twin’ and ‘skee-yee’.
Also included on the banned list was ‘rizz’, which was named as the world of the year 2023 by the Oxford University Press, which produces the Oxford English Dictionary.
This demonstrates the changing nature of language, something that some online commenters have pointed out.
However, the teacher explained their reasoning for the list, saying that people have many ways to express their feelings without resorting to slang terms. “The gibberish some of you [their students] choose to use is improper English and sometimes inappropriate for an academic setting,” she wrote in an introduction to the list.
Since it was posted online, the photograph has been viewed more than 33 million times and generated thousands of comments on both sides of the argument.
Some have argued the teacher is on a power trip and being more interested in compliance than learning about why these terms were used.
Others have said that people need to be able to talk without using slang terms, especially in formal settings such as job interviews and applications or legal workings. Another commentator pointed out that children need to learn when it is not appropriate to use such language and that communication skills are important.
