Boom.

If you're going to take a stand, by golly, do it solidly and time it right.

And so I did, exploding after hearing one cuss word too many in a class where the majority needed to see that the rumor "Mrs. Louch don't play" was more then a rumor.

Sometimes the feel-good notion of "criticize in private" does a disservice in the long run. If you cannot respect someone who respects you enough to speak in private, then you probably do not deserve the same consideration twice.

I have twenty-some other people who can play the game of professionalism, and five or so who won't. I have twenty-some people who are looking at me, waiting for a response. The "I'll take care of it in private" does not cut it for long.

Whose face do I save? Mine before the twenty-some? Or five for their own ego?

Today I saved mine. Selfish, wasn't it?

A five minute explosion, the crux of which was "you will use professional language in my classroom, you are not delinquents on the street corner, and behavior like this is what keeps you from getting the jobs you want," was not melodrama and screeching, nor did I name names and point fingers. I very simply, very coolly, reminded them that there were professional standards to be met in my classroom. Period.

We'll see the true results in the following weeks, but today's reaction was encouraging: the offending parties put on their professional facades and played by the rules for the remainder of the hour.

I'm curious, too, as to what will happen as word gets around. You see, I've never lost my temper here before. Ever.