Jumbled Jargon...

I've often wondered why people shudder when they find out that I teach high schoolers. They seem so eager to hear which grade I teach until I teach in the high school pops out of my mouth.

Then comes the shudder, and a sympathetic Oh, you're one of THOSE teachers.

In the South you can almost hear the unspoken Bless your heart at the end of the above statement.

To be honest, high schoolers really aren't that frightening. Everyone assumes that they're disruptive, earn poor grades, and make a teacher want to pull their hair out. But I've never taught any of them that were like that. 

Well, there may have been one or two over the years that made me want to rethink my career choice.

I guess I see beyond the exterior to the awkward kid underneath, someone who struggles to understand the social, physical, and mental changes they are going through and how to fit in in the big wide world around them...all while prepping to leave the safety of their parent's care.

Remember when you were in high school? I most certainly do and now I'm shuddering.

Two words: awkward nerd.

I've discovered over the years that you can learn alot from a teenager. For one thing, things aren't what they used to be.

Back in my day (that sounded just like something my own Mom and Dad would say), we used words like cool, or dude...sometimes there would be a tubular (sounds like I grew up with surfers), or a rad if things were...well, cool.

I learned a few days ago just how much times have changed. In fact over the past two days my students have taken great delight in "teaching" their teacher the finer points of high school lingo. So just for laughs here are a few:

• No Cap: apparently this means no joke
• Bruh: I was completely confused by this one until they told me it's like saying Bro when you're talking to someone or could mean seriously? when someone says something utterly ridiculous.
• Lit: means awesome. (I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with just saying awesome)
• Totes Adorbs: Only a girl would say this about something that is totally adorable
• Ratchet: said when something looks trashy
• Basic: being called this is really a cut down...you're just trying to do what everyone else is doing. You do NOT want to be labeled with this (is what I was told)

I see I'm going to have to make up a cheat-sheet to have in class just so I can interpret what's being said around me.

Oh, and when I said I was going to write about this new lingo on my blog, one of my seniors said, You have a blog? No cap!

I simply nodded yes and replied, I know, Bruh. It's totally lit!

Simply Learning the Lingo,