The Confession of an English Teacher: I don't care about grammar (much).

Meryl Streep, I love you, but no.

I’ve dedicated myself to the study and teaching of English language and literature for nine years now, and I stopped caring about grammar about ten years ago. I used to twitch when I saw an E where there should be an A. I used to rant over the misplacement of apostrophes, commas, and conjunctions. Now I can’t remember what a dangling modifier is, or properly place a preposition in an idiom without Google.

In college, with the pressure of the SAT lifted, I found that it’s a lot more fun to analyze literature than to be That Grammar Bitch. While grappling with Middle English, I saw that language and grammar are fluid—revisited, revised, and abandoned according to usage.

When I read and grade, I look for clarity. Maybe that makes me a bad English teacher, but hopefully I teach my kids to love language and not be little bitches.

Reason #297498 why I love Daenerys: there’s a GIF in which she agrees with me about Grammar Bitches.

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