William Safire, hear my cry!
I’ve received two messages today–one letter, one e-mail–both using the word “here” in the following manner:
“I’ve been teaching here at XXX since…” and
“I work for X and X here at church…”
Do either of those sentences need the word “here”? Isn’t it superfluous? Could they not simply have said, “I’ve been teaching at XXX since…” and “I work for X and X at church…” Why add “here”? How does it help clarify the thought?
This bothers me not because I’m the grammar police (although I’ve considered applying) but because they were professional, not personal notes. It also concerns me because it happened twice in one day, and that’s how these things go. Pretty soon, if we’re not careful, we’ll hit the tipping point and we’ll see it everywhere, just like that bugger “journaling.”
To be clear: If you are texting me, e-mailing me about dinner plans, or sending me a quick note to say how much you miss me, I will not bother to be bothered by your grammar. Text away! These are personal notes between friends. I couldn’t care less about your grammar.
But when grammatical errors are made in professional correspondence it bothers me. I remember several years ago when I received a letter from the Reading Dept at my son’s school with “comprise” misused. Granted, that can be a tough one, but if you’re not sure about it, don’t use it. There are lots of other words to choose from.
Okay, I’m climbing down from my high horse now. The air is rather stuffy up there! I’m going to check my email for a nice personal note, which I will love, grammar errors and all.
So I was thinking about taking a vacation, or buying something fun, maybe some pretty, pretty shoes by the lovely Tory Burch, but instead I spent our money on binders. And lots of 3-hole punched folders, with pockets.
I’m not alone. Parents around the country are currently participating in the annual spend-a-thon that is back-to-school shopping. Apparently, last year, the average amount families spent on back-to-school supplies was a mind-boggling $600. $600!
My kids need these supplies for school and I don’t mind supplying them one bit. I don’t even mind buying crayons and glue sticks for the classroom to share.
But printer paper? Dry erase markers?
Shouldn’t we draw the line somewhere? Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that it would be the poor classroom teacher, not the school district, that felt the pain if I didn’t pony up. It doesn’t seem right.
I’m thinking about sending the school district a copy of my earlier donation, also known as my tax bill, along with my printer paper and dry erase marker receipts. Times are tight, I know, but asking parents to supply printer paper? I’m not sure that the right way for schools to “save” money is on the back of the parents who already donate, through taxes and fundraisers.