i love swear words too

Last semester I had the privilege to hear Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade speak at a Teachers for Social Justice Conference. He blew me away. His presentation was quite unorthodox. Duncan-Andrade used the f-word the entire presentation and I felt that it made his argument about the urgency of the situation of the fate of kids in the inner city more powerful. Duncan-Andrade certainly had command of academic English but chose to give his presentation to a group of teachers using language more similar to that of the students living in the neighborhoods where he taught.  I, too, often feel like I express myself better when I am able to use the f-word. This sounds strange. I struggle with what to do with my students when they swear in class. I know they need to learn that it is unacceptable in certain contexts, but on the other hand sometimes it is a powerful way to express a thought or feeling. I joked with a colleague that I would allow Fridays to be a free for all for my students. But I was so moved by Duncan-Andrade , more moved by him than anyone else I have ever heard speak. And to some extent that was because of his use of non-standard English. I thought it was an interesting choice on his part to give a presentation to a group of teachers using profanity in such a way