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About five years ago, I first heard someone quickly say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." It has replaced the agreement expressing, "Yes, I know."
About four years ago, I first noticed many people beginning sentences with "So". In that context, the word is supposed to replace the word, "therefore". It has become very common, even on TV news programs.
The latest fad, which appeared in advertising in the last year is the word, "oh". Ad agencies are so enamored of this new word that they have a half dozen different people expressing, "Oh", followed by nothing.
I went to a grammar school. That is what public schools used to e called. When they stopped teaching grammar, they had to have a different name, so they were called elementary schools.
I am on a school board. Teachers frequently attend our meetings.I don't know what they think of board members, but they seem to think the board is a threat to their status quo. At a meeting last year, I mentioned the subjunctive case. A shudder of panic went through the faculty as they whispered to each other. They seemed astonished that a lowly board member knew such a thing.
Our faculty is two generations away from grammar schools. They all attended elementary schools. I learned what the subjunctive case was in a public school where we used to diagram sentences and were able to isolate clauses, phrases and tenses. It is painful to read today's newspapers which are written for a readership with a fourth grade education. Even the editorial pages are rife with grammatical errors.
I have volunteered to edit articles in our local daily paper on the subjects of aviation and firearms. It is obvious that none of the editors have the slightest idea about either topic.
(By the way, I am not a real estate agent and have not been one for over a quarter century. Somebody put that up by my handle. I am a real estate broker.)
I get the grammar police like to sit on the high horse and gaze down upon the peons but really, I still have to say "so what?" And if it makes you super happy, feel free to point out that my terminal punctuation is in the wrong spot or whatever you like.
I teach science, in fact, I have a graduate degree in science. I have just as many issues with how science is presented in newspapers and other media as you do with grammar. But again "so what?" Just because it is important to me doesn't mean it needs to be important to everyone else.
What is the point of grammar anyway? To ease communication and ensure clarity, do you think the teachers in your district are not communicating clearly?
Ikb0714 and I have something in common. He is a science teacher, and I was a science teachers years ago before I became an administrator (now retired). It always pleases me when someone makes old me seem much younger. And if you think the "fads" in language that you date to about five years ago really started then, then you need to get out of the Maine woods. Think more like the 1960s, and that was half a century ago.
Right now I am tutoring an ESL adult, and I have often laughed as I have had to wade back into teaching grammar. I'm the type that used to enjoy diagramming sentences. But there is more to this world and life than learning what the subjunctive case is, diagramming sentences, isolating clauses, etc.
If you want to be an effective school board member, you need to start thinking of the 175 instructional days in your state as a learning budget. For an elementary school student, that's 175 forty-five minute units of instruction in English. How can those doses of instruction best be utilized? Certainly grammar and writing skills is a part of it. But think a little more broadly -- how much does isolating clauses contribute to the average young person in the 2020's contribute to that student getting a good job? Not anywhere near as much today when we have grammar and spelling checkers.
I'm not dismissing the need for a decent amount of grammar being taught in elementary and middle school. But, just because it's your personal interest doesn't make it a focus of today's society. It sounds to me like you...OP...are trying to live in the past. That doesn't help the students who live in your district who will be in the work world long after you're dead and buried. Being on the board of education isn't about you and your hobbies. It's about helping students eventually compete in our American society...and our world of nations in the 21st century.
It isn't about a board member being a threat to the teacher's status quo. It's about a board member perpetuating a status quo that started going out of style -- for good or bad -- 50 years ago.
It isn't about the teachers at that meeting being "astonished that a lowly board member knew such a thing". It's about teachers being astonished that a board member doesn't appear to be living in the present educational environment of this country. I think you're out of touch.
Instead of pontificating to teachers, you ought to start listening to them more.
Damn! It feels good talking back to a school board member...instead of being treated like a lowly servant.
About five years ago, I first heard someone quickly say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." It has replaced the agreement expressing, "Yes, I know."
About four years ago, I first noticed many people beginning sentences with "So". In that context, the word is supposed to replace the word, "therefore". It has become very common, even on TV news programs.
The latest fad, which appeared in advertising in the last year is the word, "oh". Ad agencies are so enamored of this new word that they have a half dozen different people expressing, "Oh", followed by nothing.
I went to a grammar school. That is what public schools used to e called. When they stopped teaching grammar, they had to have a different name, so they were called elementary schools.
I am on a school board. Teachers frequently attend our meetings.I don't know what they think of board members, but they seem to think the board is a threat to their status quo. At a meeting last year, I mentioned the subjunctive case. A shudder of panic went through the faculty as they whispered to each other. They seemed astonished that a lowly board member knew such a thing.
Our faculty is two generations away from grammar schools. They all attended elementary schools. I learned what the subjunctive case was in a public school where we used to diagram sentences and were able to isolate clauses, phrases and tenses. It is painful to read today's newspapers which are written for a readership with a fourth grade education. Even the editorial pages are rife with grammatical errors.
I have volunteered to edit articles in our local daily paper on the subjects of aviation and firearms. It is obvious that none of the editors have the slightest idea about either topic.
(By the way, I am not a real estate agent and have not been one for over a quarter century. Somebody put that up by my handle. I am a real estate broker.)
I get the grammar police like to sit on the high horse and gaze down upon the peons but really, I still have to say "so what?" And if it makes you super happy, feel free to point out that my terminal punctuation is in the wrong spot or whatever you like.
I teach science, in fact, I have a graduate degree in science. I have just as many issues with how science is presented in newspapers and other media as you do with grammar. But again "so what?" Just because it is important to me doesn't mean it needs to be important to everyone else.
What is the point of grammar anyway? To ease communication and ensure clarity, do you think the teachers in your district are not communicating clearly?
I know that you think that since you are a science teacher, you think that proper spelling, grammar, and pronunciation are not important. Let me tell you a story.
The reading specialist at my elementary school was the wife of my future AP Bio teacher. When I was in middle school (so I was no longer in her elementary school, but not yet in his AP bio class), my brother was still in elementary school. That reading specialist completely reformed the curriculum. One of her changes was eliminating spelling tests. Her logic was that her husband was the smartest person she ever met, but a poor speller.
Fast forward a few years to 10th grade and AP Bio. My teacher was the husband of that reading specialist. His spelling, grammar, and pronunciation were atrocious. I trust that his wife says that he is a smart person, but, honestly, everybody in our class just thought that he was a total idiot, due to his awful spelling, grammar, and pronunciation. It became a running joke in our class. Every night, myself and a girl from the class would e-mail each other, making fun of his spelling, grammar, and pronunciation errors that he made. It was what caused all of us to dismiss him as an idiot, not the smartest person that his wife thought that he was. If only his wife knew about myself and that girl e-mailing each other every night, I wonder if she would have come to understood the importance of spelling, grammar, and pronunciation.
I know that you think that since you are a science teacher, you think that proper spelling, grammar, and pronunciation are not important. Let me tell you a story.
The reading specialist at my elementary school was the wife of my future AP Bio teacher. When I was in middle school (so I was no longer in her elementary school, but not yet in his AP bio class), my brother was still in elementary school. That reading specialist completely reformed the curriculum. One of her changes was eliminating spelling tests. Her logic was that her husband was the smartest person she ever met, but a poor speller.
Fast forward a few years to 10th grade and AP Bio. My teacher was the husband of that reading specialist. His spelling, grammar, and pronunciation were atrocious. I trust that his wife says that he is a smart person, but, honestly, everybody in our class just thought that he was a total idiot, due to his awful spelling, grammar, and pronunciation. It became a running joke in our class. Every night, myself and a girl from the class would e-mail each other, making fun of his spelling, grammar, and pronunciation errors that he made. It was what caused all of us to dismiss him as an idiot, not the smartest person that his wife thought that he was. If only his wife knew about myself and that girl e-mailing each other every night, I wonder if she would have come to understood the importance of spelling, grammar, and pronunciation.
Cool story, bro. But honestly, given that IQ is not correlated particularly to pronunciation or spelling maybe you should look at yourself and your snickering friend instead of wondering about the reading specialist. I mean weren't you the one who thought a commercial about a donut was encouraging women to report men for sexual harassment? Maybe you should consider that your initial judgement of people and situations is sometimes suspect.
Anyway these may not be a cool anecdote but maybe some self reflection would do the grammar and spelling police some good.
Cool story, bro. But honestly, given that IQ is not correlated particularly to pronunciation or spelling
Probably true, but pronunciation, spelling, and grammar, whether rightly or wrongly, do influence how people are judged. I don't doubt my AP Bio teacher's wife that he was the smartest person she ever met (obviously she knew him better than I did), but because of his poor spelling, grammar, and pronunciation, it caused others to not think of him as being very smart.
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maybe you should look at yourself and your snickering friend instead of wondering about the reading specialist.
My "snickering friend" is now a doctor!
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I mean weren't you the one who thought a commercial about a donut was encouraging women to report men for sexual harassment? Maybe you should consider that your initial judgement of people and situations is sometimes suspect.
Off topic and not relevant.
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Anyway these may not be a cool anecdote but maybe some self reflection would do the grammar and spelling police some good.
About five years ago, I first heard someone quickly say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." It has replaced the agreement expressing, "Yes, I know."
About four years ago, I first noticed many people beginning sentences with "So". In that context, the word is supposed to replace the word, "therefore". It has become very common, even on TV news programs.
The latest fad, which appeared in advertising in the last year is the word, "oh". Ad agencies are so enamored of this new word that they have a half dozen different people expressing, "Oh", followed by nothing.
I went to a grammar school. That is what public schools used to e called. When they stopped teaching grammar, they had to have a different name, so they were called elementary schools.
I am on a school board. Teachers frequently attend our meetings.I don't know what they think of board members, but they seem to think the board is a threat to their status quo. At a meeting last year, I mentioned the subjunctive case. A shudder of panic went through the faculty as they whispered to each other. They seemed astonished that a lowly board member knew such a thing.
Our faculty is two generations away from grammar schools. They all attended elementary schools. I learned what the subjunctive case was in a public school where we used to diagram sentences and were able to isolate clauses, phrases and tenses. It is painful to read today's newspapers which are written for a readership with a fourth grade education. Even the editorial pages are rife with grammatical errors.
I have volunteered to edit articles in our local daily paper on the subjects of aviation and firearms. It is obvious that none of the editors have the slightest idea about either topic.
(By the way, I am not a real estate agent and have not been one for over a quarter century. Somebody put that up by my handle. I am a real estate broker.)
I'm glad you learned grammar in elementary school. The absence of grammar instruction at all levels of schooling, including advanced grammar in high school in preparation for college work, is one of my pet peeves. I don't know where you're from, but in California, elementary was called "grammar school" even when they'd ceased to teach grammar. I think it was an old-fashioned term that phased out gradually, over generations.
I regret to have to inform you, however, that there's no such thing as the "subjunctive case". The subjunctive isn't a "case", which is a term that applies to nouns and pronouns. The subjunctive is a "mood", and pertains to verbs. http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000031.htm
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