Who writes this stuff?

For years I taught from A Beka reading (which is awful, by the way). The stories were extremely boring and outdated. When you have outdated reading materials, the lingo tends to lose some of its meaning. This was especially true with A Beka reading. It was annoying to read a story with third or fourth grade students only to hear them snicker at the word gay or the boy named Dick. I mean really, you just can't give that kind of story to a kid. It's only natural for them to react.

We have new reading curriculum this year, and so far the kids have thoroughly enjoyed every story. We look forward to reading time, which is kind of a new feeling for me since I've only ever dealt with A Beka.

Today's story had a word or two that needed some explanation, but still, it was handled much better than in the past. First, the word manure showed up. I've learned to just let the kids laugh at this kind of thing because, well, I'd laugh if I'd read it in fourth grade! Then the word derriere showed up. Now, this is my fault because I explained to the kids the English meaning of the word. They got a kick out of it. One boy was so excited to use the word. Is that bad? Or am I expanding their vocabulary? I'm going to go with the latter.

One of the other words was chit, which merely made me cringe as the students read it, fearing they would mispronounce. I don't think any students actually reacted to that word. Then, there was a part where the French man referred to something that had the word retard in it. He was speaking of people being late. I explained the evolution of the word to the class, and they were all somewhat understanding.

Well, I'm finished writing this manure, and I need to get off my derriere before I am en retard for my practice this evening.