For most of my adult life I have had a pretty bad addiction, and I am trying to put it behind me. Whether it is in the context of a conversation in person, over the phone, or conducted over any of a number of digitial media, I have wasted too much time correcting people — it has to stop now.
Janna and I teach American Sign Language online and in books through our Hardcore ASL program. We are often asked by students and schools how one can find the right ASL teacher.
Here are some things you should ask to know:
Hubris is dangerous in the classroom. The student that believes nothing can be learned that isn’t already known catches nothing. The instructor that believes in an all-knowing prescience guarantees nothing worthwhile is cast for the capturing. That battle between student and teacher can dangerously become a war between good and evil — and that fight leaves no winners on the field of learning.
Continue reading → How the Superman Syndrome Ruins Student Writing
Just when you thought it was safe to make grammatical errors again, Grammar Man has come back with a vengeance. This time, he’s not going to overlook even the smallest infraction. Well it’s possible he might but only if he’s in a good mood. Don’t think this is your cue to start making major errors, however. We’re still watching you to make sure you don’t start sentences with ‘anymore’ or asking if we know what you mean. We have prepared more examples of corrections that need to be made.
When you speak, do you ever end a sentence with “at” — and I don’t meant the “@” sign, either! Here are some examples:
You do think grammar and spelling are important? Do you believe your words define you and frame your intelligence? If you agree, how then do you explain the steep decline in definition and brightness in written exchanges via electronic communication?
Continue reading → Keyboard Vomit: Gross Grammar and Sicker Spelling
Curiously enough, I have found that since moving to Seattle I have heard far fewer people ending every other sentence with the rhetorical question, “know what I mean?” or its more irritating abbreviated form, “knamea?”. On the other hand, there have been a number of grammatical curiosities that I have noticed here. As well as these, there are some frequent errors I have noticed since my first article on this topic.
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