# Assistant principal fired for reading "I Want a New Butt!" to second-graders **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857 "2022-03-10T22:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/21 "2022-03-11T14:24:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I can just imagine them turning this book into a musical, using Huey Lewis and the News’ song _I Want a New Drug_ as a basis I want a new butt Padded so I can sit One that won’t fart too much or get covered with shit ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/22 "2022-03-11T14:47:04Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > It just doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to terminate someone, even in a very conservative area. Also, Hinds County is not a very conservative area, at least not in the political sense. It’s an urban, majority-minority county that Biden won by an overwhelming _74 to 25%_. It’s true that majority-African American areas in Mississippi sometimes have a streak of social conservatism that doesn’t show up in voting patterns, but I’d expect that to be more the case in rural areas than in the state’s only major city. FWIW, there have been previous complaints against the superintendent for handling personnel matters in arbitrary ways and driving off well-qualified teachers, so I think the idea that she had some sort of personal grudge against this guy is quite plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/23 "2022-03-11T14:51:56Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I wonder if the principal had it in for him and was poised to find any reason at all to fire him. It just doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to terminate someone, even in a very conservative area. Yup, that was my point in my initial post. It doesn’t smell right, and I don’t just mean the butt that requires replacement. She herself probably needs a new butt; one without a stick in it. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/24 "2022-03-11T15:01:05Z")
Seriously, it should be ok to have a light moment in school. I hope this one gets rehired and the other gets surgery soon. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/25 "2022-03-11T15:10:06Z")
Back in my day, we had _In The Night Kitchen_ with a picture of a little boy’s dong and nobody said boo to a goose, consarn it! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/26 "2022-03-11T15:20:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > I can just imagine them turning this book into a musical, using Huey Lewis and the News’ song _I Want a New Drug_ as a basis > > I want a new butt > Padded so I can sit > One that won’t fart too much > or get covered with shit You won’t think it’s a good idea after you see what Huey Lewis did to Weird Al. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Fk15H6PjBis/hqdefault.jpg "American Psycho with Huey Lewis and Weird Al") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk15H6PjBis) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/27 "2022-03-11T15:34:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > You won’t think it’s a good idea after you see what Huey Lewis did to Weird Al. Note to self: if Huey Lewis comes by, don’t invite him in, ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/28 "2022-03-11T15:34:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, you’re a bit of an old fogey here. My only complaint might be that second grade is a grade or two old for this silly material, but the subject is fine. (My kids are in second grade and kindergarten and I feel they went through their fart and butt phase about two years ago.) Still, any reading material that engages them and they find fun I consider a win. “Everybody Poops” was a similarly entertaining book, and I can’t imagine finding something like that objectionable, either. I don’t feel very strongly about this - but I do find it mildly curious that not one person takes issue with 2d grade school material containing the word fart. Just kinda reminds me of how standards have changed. I remember when my kids were young - in the 90s, I was mildly bothered by the ready acceptance of “suck.” I recall trying - and abandoning my efforts - to prevent my kids’ excessive, casual use of “suck.” I don’t THINK I’m excessively prudish. I recall my 3 kids all being in grade school when we had a lengthy dinner discussion of what was “the worst swear.” And my youngest was in 2d-3d grade or so when she asked whether anyone wanted “to watch some totally inappropriate TV?” (The Sopranos.) But I wouldn’t dream of showing the Sopranos to other peoples’ children in grade school. Again, I don’t feel all that strongly about it, but my impression was that the “Everybody Poops” book was at least to some extent related to toilet training issues kids might have. But(t) I have not looked up the intended audience age. Little kids find all manner of things amusing that I’d just as soon be omitted from the schoolroom. And - really putting TOO MUCH thought into this, the protagonist is HOW OLD before he realizes he has a butt crack? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/29 "2022-03-11T15:38:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I can just imagine them turning this book into a musical, using Huey Lewis and the News’ song _I Want a New Drug_ as a basis I had the same thought! Now I have that song stuck in my head, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/30 "2022-03-11T15:54:22Z")
Wait – they’re protesting about someone reading “I Want a New Butt” in _Hinds_ county? Really? The jokes just write themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/31 "2022-03-11T16:57:33Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Back in my day, we had _In The Night Kitchen_ with a picture of a little boy’s dong and nobody said boo to a goose, consarn it! Yeah, we had that in my first grade classroom. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/32 "2022-03-11T17:06:42Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Back in my day, we had _In The Night Kitchen_ with a picture of a little boy’s dong and nobody said boo to a goose, consarn it! They did in my school system. I walked into a meeting of librarians in my high school as they were discussing the book. It was considered daring in the US when it first came out, and they were agonizing over whether to release the book to the school libraries (not the high school’s, though). Me, I just wanted to know why all the cooks looked like Oliver Hardy. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/33 "2022-03-11T18:38:31Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I don’t feel very strongly about this - but I do find it mildly curious that not one person takes issue with 2d grade school material containing the word fart. Just kinda reminds me of how standards have changed. They have, and thank heavens. Words that were considered crude and inappropriate 20 or 30 years ago have not only entered the national vernacular but are considered appropriate in almost every circumstance. I don’t mean _every_ word, of course, just the second- and third-string words that pertain to digestive functions and related body parts. We were all supposed to pretend that we didn’t have those parts or do those things. They were little secrets, subject to family humor at home (and in the car during family trips), but not referred to elsewhere (with the possible exception of the doctor’s office–in more formal terms, of course. It wasn’t a very healthy attitude. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > in the 90s, I was mildly bothered by the ready acceptance of “suck.” I recall trying - and abandoning my efforts - to prevent my kids’ excessive, casual use of “suck.” I taught high schoolers, who, when I started out in the early 90s, recognized that “sucks” was inappropriate. (One of the science teachers made them substitute “lacks pressure.”) By the time I retired 6 years ago, that had changed, and probably half the teachers used “sucks” in the classroom. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/34 "2022-03-11T18:54:48Z")
I’m just excited that that “Ass Principal” will probably make more money by suing the school district (and the Non-Ass Principal) than he would have at his former job. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/35 "2022-03-11T18:54:59Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I remember when my kids were young - in the 90s, I was mildly bothered by the ready acceptance of “suck.” I recall trying - and abandoning my efforts - to prevent my kids’ excessive, casual use of “suck.” It amuses me to hear how old people thought “sucks” was such a terrible word. It’s so tame and commonplace, does anyone other than those in the 60+ range even associate that with some kind of “dirty” thing? “I lost my phone” “Oh that sucks.” It’s just a general term for something bad/unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/36 "2022-03-11T19:03:10Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > It amuses me to hear how old people thought “sucks” was such a terrible word. It’s so tame and commonplace, does anyone other than those in the 60+ range even associate that with some kind of “dirty” thing? I do use it sometimes (I’m 56), but I certainly remember that, when I was a kid, my mother forbid my sister and me to use the term in her presence. She never explained why, but I imagine that, back then, there was still some connotation of oral sex involved with the term. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/37 "2022-03-11T19:08:38Z")
“My vacuum cleaner short circuited and won’t shut off!” “That sucks” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/38 "2022-03-11T19:09:38Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I don’t mean _every_ word, of course, just the second- and third-string words that pertain to digestive functions and related body parts. Exactly this is what I don’t see as workable, or anything other than extremely personal opinion. (And I don’t understand what you mean by 2d-3d string words.) Flatulence, pass gas, toot, fart… BM, bowel movement, crap, shit… gee whiz, golly, gosh darn, god damn Once we move away from one end, why do we stop where? Sure, language - and standards - change. And ideas of “taste” are not universal. (I recently saw a movie mentioning that in the 50s you couldn’t say “pregnant” on TV.) But just because past standards were too far towards one end of the scale in terms of formality/prudishness, doesn’t mean we should welcome every continued step towards increased informality/crudity in our classrooms and on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/39 "2022-03-11T19:12:54Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > It’s just a general term for something bad/unpleasant. Whereas “stinks” was entirely sufficient. And - anyone around at the time was certainly aware that “sucks” had a much more impolite connotation. And don’t paint things so black and white. I personally didn’t think it was “such a terrible word.” Instead, I just thought it somewhat impolite such that an intelligent and courteous person would not casually toss it about indiscriminately. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857/40 "2022-03-11T19:58:14Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I recently saw a movie mentioning that in the 50s you couldn’t say “pregnant” on TV. What’s insane with that is that is they had no problem _showing_ her pregnant, or making it a humorous plot point that she couldn’t get out of the chair she was in. You just couldn’t _say_ it. It wasn’t any better in the 60s: Fred Flintstone had to rush a (very thin) woman to the hospital because [whisper whisper]. Later we found she had triplets. Were they trying to fool kids? “Where do babies come from, mom?” “The hospital, dear.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-principal-fired-for-reading-i-want-a-new-butt-to-second-graders/960857.md?page=3)