I wait for the first one of the year in each class. When it happens, I get the class silent and explain that I have degrees in both English and psychology, which means that I know how to use the language they speak better than they do, and I know how to make the words hurt more than they do. I quietly and calmly explain that words like gay, fag, retarded, and the like are not ok, and that from this point on, if I hear them say any of them in a derogatory way, I will start chirping them, and not stop until they cry. And when they are in tears, I will haul their sorry asses down to the principals office and make them call their mothers. Same speech every year, and it always works.