Fein And Millhauser's Vulgarity By Teaching Slang In The Classroom

David A. Fein and Milton Millhauser have both written articles pertaining to the topic of slang. Fein and Millhauser provide two different viewpoints, and they employ information and their opinions in different ways. David A. Fein’s article, “Vulgarity by Teaching Slang in the Classroom”, makes a good argument as to why slang should be utilized in teaching, while Milton Millhauser’s article, “The Case Against Slang”, explains that slang is to be avoided in teaching, but fails to provide a good argument for his claim. The first flaw in Millhauser’s argument is his appeal to authority. Millhauser blatantly expounds that people of higher status do not use slang. He states that “slang is not used by the best people” (Millhauser 307). Millhauser’s

He asks, “why don’t they use it?” (Millhauser 307), in reference to his previous point about authority. He should be explaining why they don’t use it. He also goes on to ask, “Is there actually something wrong with slang that makes a superior type of mind or of social experience shy away from it? And if so, what?” (Millhauser 307). Millhauser does not answer his questions which makes it seem as if he does not know the answer himself. His questioning makes his argument seem less reliable to the reader. It is not very logical to expect the audience to be persuaded by Millhauser if he doesn’t provide answers and explanation to questions he has

Fein is not extreme in the way he states his opinions. He moderately states that “we could systematically dedicate some class time to slang vocabulary” (Fein 101). This provides explanation that we should incorporate slang in the classroom, but only at a certain time and methodically. He also declares that “rather than present definitions of the vocabulary, I suggest that we send the students on a scavenger hunt” (Fein 101), implying that students should discover slang on their own. He also articulates his idea that “we should help students develop a sense of linguistic boundaries so that they will understand when it is appropriate or inappropriate to use certain slang terms” (Fein 101). Fein is not overbearing in his argument. He provides evidence for his idea that slang should be used in the classroom in a certain manner, but he also explains that certain slang is to be avoided and we should teach students about when it is appropriate and