Yep. That's why I'm fixin' to home school - starting this September. I kin talk right if'n I want to, or I can speak correctly if I so desire; I kin write kinda off the wall if'n I want to, or I can't write in grammatically correct sentences (no diagramming, please!) Kids should be taught English correctly - so they can decide which way to use - not leaving bad grammar to default. JMHO

see can't? Cantoo, cannot, cantoo...can't blame all bad English on typos, can we?

unique, your post is priceless. I think Danita home schools too. What grade?

I homeschool two teenagers - whom I've homeschooled from the begining. (DON'T LOOK AT MY GRAMMER OR SPELLING!!!)

It has been quite a journey. One that is sometimes difficult, but yet I know it is what is best for my family.

Danita

p.s. Unique, what grades will you be homeschooling?

Second grade starting in September. Whew!! Glad I don't have to decompress all those years thru junior high. I don't think my nerves would take it. He's a bright little guy but he really HATES school. Especially the fun classes like Art, Music, Computers, & Gym....THAT makes me wonder,

My son David had a fit when Spanish was mandatory for the 7th grade and Jason had to take it. Then David really lost it when Jason came home with an A in Spanish and a D in English. I got there as he was yelling rather loudly, "but Jason you speak English." I don't agree with the schools making the American kids learn another cultures language and not making them learn ours....something isn't right here.

Stupid people are a real pain in all areas of life. I get them at craft fairs:
"How much are those earrings?"
"They're $5. Everything on this board is priced by the row."
"Then how much is this pair?"
"$6. Everything on this board is priced by the row. See the label-maker tags on both ends of the row? $5 this row. $6 that row. Everything on this row is the same price."
"Well, what about that row?"

Meredith, may God continue to grant you the patience of a saint! It sounds like you have it (they ain't dead) and you need it (anyone else and they Would Be!)

I'm thinking that maybe, people just don't pay attention. We have so much stuff thrown at us today with the technology, we're confused or...we're menopausal. I blame a lot on that!

Chatty, I used to feel that way about having to learn other languages until I started traveling. Most European children are taught three languages, English being one. I feel rather stingy when I visit as I haven't even attempted to learn their language. And the French don't understand how my sister can live there for six years and still not be fluent in French! Those channels in our brains shut down as we age. She's trying! It's hard when you're older.

For the most part people live in their own worlds, I think. It's unusual to find a cashier that actually looks at you or even addresses you when they "serve" you. I think they are 1) bored or 2) self-absorbed. I am continually amazed at the numbers of people I meet that the first thought that crosses their mind when a situation comes up is "how is it going to affect or benefit me?" If it doesn't serve their needs, they're not interested. Stepping outside themselves to consider how it would benefit someone else is outside the scope of their abilities. That's why, I think, that service is becoming a rare commodity.

Unique, I got a good laugh from your "fixin to". Being from the South myself, I say that in day-to-day conversation, which gets some strange looks where I live now. However, like you, I too know the difference between the vernacular and formal business, social, or written English. Interestingly, I have found in some of my civic club experiences that some of the people who have been so reactive to my Southern slang couldn't write a proper sentence if their lives depended on it!