Say It Properly

I will admit it - I'm a grammar snob. You may not always be able to tell it by listening to me, because I do occasionally get lazy in my speech, but improper grammar drives me bonkers!

I was educated in a school system that was adamant about its students receiving an exceptional grammar education. Our principal, who had been teaching since she was 16, insisted on this method of teaching.

In seventh grade, we started using a "little red vocabulary book". Every day of the school year, we had a lesson out of that vocabulary book. There were four levels of words on each page - we used the first level in seventh grade, second level in eighth grade - then we started over with the first level in our freshman year and so on until we finished level four our senior year. There were six words in each lesson - we had to spell each word, define it, and properly use it in a sentence.

When we got to high school, Mrs. Mosher insisted that every english class include at least half a year of grammar. I can no longer properly diagram a sentence, but I remember proper sentence structure and proper vocabulary usage. When I went to college, I got to skip freshman level english....and so did every other student from my high school who attended that college during that era.

I've always enjoyed creative writing, and I think that all goes hand in hand. In college, I talked my way into a journalism class that was supposed to be only for journalism people.....then one of my required courses was scheduled for the same time, and I had to go back to the professor with my apologies. I was disappointed.

Those of us who attended our school were so fortunate in the quality of education we received. We didn't receive a particularly rounded education where electives are concerned due to the small size of the school. But we were well versed in the basics!

It's hard for me to not correct people who use improper grammar or the wrong word, especially in writing. I really have to hold myself back - it just makes me cringe. It seems to me (oh, yeah, I'm definitely sounding like an old fogey!) that grammar just isn't given the attention it used to receive. I hear college-age and  post-college-age people speak eloquently about their career.....then they use a word inappropriately. That can really color the impression I've formed.

One thing to always remember is to never, NEVER end a sentence with a preposition! I think it was our seventh grade english teacher who hammered that point home with the following improperly-structured sentence (with a farming focus so she was sure we'd all understand):  Hay crew member to farmer, "Where's the door where you put the hay up in at?"

I've often wished that I had one of those little red vocabulary books.....I had so much quality time with them during junior high and high school that they should have continued being part of my life!