To React Or Not To React

So often things happen in school which require a teacher to step in and say, "Quit it." As a first-year teacher, I am often conflicted whether or not I should do that. In an attempt to be as honest and sincere with the kids as possible (and a most earnest attempt not to be the stereotypical out-of-touch old geezer of a teacher), I am often unsure whether a situation requires me to step in.

The things that transpire in school mimic those that happen in real life. If I am in the grocery store, and I hear someone curse, for instance, or get impatiently angry with the cashier, I can turn a deaf ear or a blind eye. In the case of cursing, I rarely even bat an eye, unless someone unleashes a litany of expletives. However, the school's rule prevents cursing, so I frequently find myself saying, "Watch your mouth," when someone lets slip a "shit" or a "fuck."

But I have yet to answer what the big deal is if they curse? They are expressing anger or frustration, or placing extra emphasis on their comments.

Of course there are degrees to this. If someone (and this happened twice to me last week), openly says to me, "That's fucking retarded," when asked to do some work, or stop tapping on their desk, their ass is getting sent down to the office. However, a more benign example is when a student asks a classmate, "Hey, when can I come over and grab my shit I left at your place?"

There's also the do-i-or-do-i-not-say-something dilemma when someone sleeps in class. Or is late to class. When someone comes late to my class, or decides to put his head down on his desk and not pay attention, who's really losing out? The student will miss any notes given, any test or quiz announcements, any homework announcements, or any of the other things which go on in the class. So if he chooses to ignore these things, it's his loss, right? And he'll pay the consequences later when it comes time to take the test, or hand in the assignment, or do any of the required classwork. So why should I say anything?

But there's a part of me which feels as if I'm supposed to say something when these things happen. Am I? What do you think?