Detention and the "M" Word

On Friday, the boys were anxious to tell me that another little boy in their class got detention. Detention is a very rare thing in 4th grade at our school, so my curiosity was piqued. So, I asked what "Joe" did to deserve detention. His crime was twofold: (1) he stuffed his hot pocket in his milk (not sure why this was an act worthy of detention because it seems like normal boy behavior to me, but according to Mark & Andrew it was detention worthy because it was wasting food), and (2) he called a teacher the "m" word.

Now, being the helicopter mom that I am, I was surprised that my kids knew what the "m" word even was - and more importantly, where did they learn the "m" word. I thought the "m" word was the Hip-Hop swear word mother ______. So, I asked them what was the "m" word. They told me, Mom, you know, the word that you use all the time. I am instantly perplexed because the "m" word I am thinking of is a word that I have never used to my recollection. So, I asked them for some context. Andrew explains, you know, when somebody is driving in front of you and making you mad. Oh....you mean "moron".... The boys just looked at me with a big "duh" look on their face.

Don't get me wrong. I think calling a teacher any name is disrespectful and worthy of detention...it just surprised me that "moron" is now put in the same class of derogatory words that can't be uttered out loud. Perhaps civility is returning to our society after all (just not in our car when I am driving!)