Old School

Since my real career is not taking off to the fabulous start I expected, I have been making up the monetary difference by substitute teaching. At my old high school. Let's just talk about trippy. I ate lunch in the teacher's lounge with my old chemistry and physics teachers. I don't feel old enough to be there. I feel like I'm in some weird limbo between youth and adulthood. Really now, I'm only ten years older than the seniors. I was hanging out with people my age when I was their age. Although, in retrospect I must have had weird friends, because I can't imagine hanging out with a seventeen year-old.
I'm working on my authoritativeness, without being a crusty nitpicker. I am a horrible rule enforcer. For instance, I have to yell at kids for swearing. To be perfectly honest, the swearing doesn't bother me as long as it's not directed at someone. So if a student exclaimed, "Fuck!," in response to some unfortunate circumstance, I don't feel inclined to correct. If the same student were to call a fellow student stupid, I'd be perfectly ready to encourage them to rethink their words. Also, there seems to be an Ipod epidemic happening in the high schools. They aren't supposed to use them at all, but as I see it they seem to work better independently while they are listening to music.
My least favorite part is what the girls are wearing. Okay! I'll be honest, I had body parts hanging out all over the place from seventh grade on and I very often still do. The problem I have is that these girls are getting out of their houses like this. They could be doing the clothing swap on the way to school, but still. This isn't just high school, either. The middle schoolers look like they are trying out for back up dancer in a Nelly video too. Part of me keeps the same argument that I made when I was younger. That you aren't defined by what you wear and you should be able to wear what you want. But the part of me that's getting old wants these girls to have their girlhood. I want them to be able to go out to recess and run around, which is made difficult with any type of elevated shoe (they are all over the elementary schools). I want them to feel good about themselves, for themselves and not for the attention that an extra inch of cleavage is getting them. So maybe it isn't that I'm bothered by what they are wearing, but how they are wearing it. And how do encourage a young girl to be decorous? How do you encourage a young girl to use the power she has on the inside, when you can get by with what's on the outside?