Tired of this "elitist" BS

[Hello Kitty]

I dislike bad spelling and grammar. I'm not perfect by any means, but when I see flagrant and multiple errors it bugs the hell out of me...especially since it's SO COMMON now. Do the schools not teach this anymore?! I don't understand how high schools can graduate students with such low spelling and grammar skills, but I guess that's another thread.

I have been known to correct signs. I'm sorry but it bugs me. If you don't like it, don't make errors next time!

My coworker and I had a long running dispute over the plural abbreviation 'IPs'. I was convinced it should be 'IPs' with no apostrophe (as it was not possessive) but he insisted it was 'IP's'. [Apparently using an apostrophe is traditional but now it is common not to use it.]

Sticklers should read 'Eats Shoots & Leaves' by Lynne Truss. Hilarious. Who knew there was an Apostrophe Preservation Society?

[Seshat]

A chum of mine is a coder. He said grammar wasn't important, so I asked him what his computer would say if his coding was a shoddy as his written text.

English is C for natural intelligence.

[FashionLad]

I dislike bad spelling and grammar. I'm not perfect by any means, but when I see flagrant and multiple errors it bugs the hell out of me...especially since it's SO COMMON now. Do the schools not teach this anymore?! I don't understand how high schools can graduate students with such low spelling and grammar skills, but I guess that's another thread.

I've said this before, my grammar is not perfect so I'm not going to go around and try and correct anyone else. Of course, I'd think when trying to make an arguement about how bad grammar annoys you, you'd make better punctuation choices.

I'll comma splice the hell out of a paragraph, I'll leave dangling modifers because honestly, I never really grasped what a dangling modifer really is. Most likely you'll see at least one run-on sentence as well as at least one fragment. I don't want anyone to explain dangling modifers to me, I've had several English teachers try already.

All I'm saying is that it annoys me to no end that the people who are complaining the most about grammar, are the people who compain about bad grammar while using noticably bad grammar. If you're an English teacher throwing a fit over my grammar, have at it. Chances are, you probably won't change too much of how I write or talk.

The best thing of all is, I got As in my English classes. Why? When I had to write a paper, I had the best English students proofread the hell out of my paper until it was perfect. You don't have to know everything. You just have to know where to get the information.

[Hello Kitty]

Hey, I never said I was perfect. But I do expect a high school graduate to understand how simple contractions work.

[FashionLad]

Hey, I never said I was perfect. But I do expect a high school graduate to understand how simple contractions work.

I'll quote myself because I already explained why I said what I said:

All I'm saying is that it annoys me to no end that the people who are complaining the most about grammar, are the people who compain about bad grammar while using noticably bad grammar.

That's all. I'm not calling anyone a hypocrit. I'm just saying that if you're going to make a point-- monkey see, monkey do. That's all.

[gbm85]

I do expect a high school graduate to understand how simple contractions work.

Do you expect the person cooking your burger at McDonald's to understand contractions? Because that's who a high school graduate is these days.

[AFPheonix]

Why does one's place of work have any bearing on how someone was taught in english class?

[Boozy]

I expect basic literacy of my fellow citizens, if only because we live in a democracy and we have a duty to be educated and informed. If someone who works at McDonald's votes, I expect them to pick up a newspaper or a book on occasion.

Obviously, using a comma correctly does not mean someone is informed, but as a general rule, the more someone reads, the less likely they are to make glaring punctuation errors.

No one here is making any of these major errors, btw. Everyone's post is readable.

[TheRoo]

Do you expect the person cooking your burger at McDonald's to understand contractions? Because that's who a high school graduate is these days.

I used to manage a gas station, and there was a place on the application for a short paragraph about why I should hire them. Punctuation and spelling in that paragraph were very important to me. A missing comma wasn't a deal breaker, but it certainly was a strike against them. A potential employee who takes the time to proofread an application before he or she turns it in is the kind of person that I wanted working for me.

I think your statement is insulting to McDonald's workers, who should be able to write at least somewhat proficiently. We should not settle for lower standards, even for jobs that only require a high school diploma

[DarthRetard]

You know what other profession requires a high school diploma as a minimum? The military.

Personally gbm85, that seems like quite an elitist statement yourself. Even though, like you probably assume, 100% of McDonald's employees go there because they like low standards and bad grammar and only want to do the minimum. I'm sure of course, that none of those kids go to college, or are still in high school just trying earn a little cash. No, of course not.

Asking someone to use their language in the proper way is not an elitist statement, but saying that a high school graduate is equal to an illiterate McDonald's worker is a slight against the fast-food profession, and in my opinion, people who undertake that profession for whatever reason. If I worked at McDonald's, does that automatically make me illiterate? I graduated from high school, I worked fast food for a little bit, just earn some cash on the side while I was finishing my enlistment paperwork.

Grammar is an integral part of communication, both verbal and written, and it's as important to fast-food workers as it is politicians and public speakers.

[gbm85]

Part of English class is reading comprehension. I wonder how well some of the posters here performed in that area.

High school graduation is not what it used to be. For that matter, neither is college graduation. The bar moves with the numbers. If everyone in America had a doctorate, don't you think there would be people with doctorates working at McDonald's?

As time goes on, a high school diploma means less and less. There was a time when few people went to college, and a high school diploma was relatively meaningful. Those days are gone.

I myself do not have a high school diploma. I have a GED. Does that mean that you expect less of me in regards to punctuation and grammar? If not, then why is the opposite true?

In many school districts, a D is considered passing. So, assuming that Joe Blo earned all A's except for D's in English, he would still graduate. Do you expect a D student to display above-average or even average skills in that subject?

And if someone would like to quote my previous post and point out exactly where I said that all McDonald's employees are high-school graduates with no intention of moving up, or that they all work at McDonald's because they like the low standards, then please do so. I would be absolutely delighted.

Do you know why people cook at McDonald's instead of holding a position that works with the public? Most of the time it is because they lack proper communication skills. Therefore, I do not find it the least bit unreasonable to say that the cooks at McDonald's do not have good grammar or punctuation skills.

Sue me.

[FashionLad]

Obviously, using a comma correctly does not mean someone is informed, but as a general rule, the more someone reads, the less likely they are to make glaring punctuation errors.

I read all the time. Get your read pens out, because I'm about to make a ton of grammatical errors; however, I can kind of figure out when something is amiss. When I don't have school, I read about three books a month. As I've said before, my grammar is far from perfect. I do know basic rules of grammar; it's enough to get me by.

I don't expect scholarly work from anyone on an internet board. I do expect that someone has the basics of grammar down when writing a resume. Chances are most people will be writing simple sentences throughout their resume.

It's not bad until it's unreadable. If this were school I'd be more concerned; but, on a board such as this, it's pretty informal. If someone puts a comma in where it doesn't belong, that's fine with me.

And gbm85 is right. People who are cooking at McDonald's are generally people who have issues with communicating effectively.

[ArenaBoy]

Do you know why people cook at McDonald's instead of holding a position that works with the public? Most of the time it is because they lack proper communication skills. Therefore, I do not find it the least bit unreasonable to say that the cooks at McDonald's do not have good grammar or punctuation skills.

You know those posts on CS, where people post about customers assuming that just because they work a certain position or job is an indicator to their societal status?

[ArenaBoy]

And gbm85 is right. People who are cooking at McDonald's are generally people who have issues with communicating effectively.

It could mean that a person is, you know, GOOD at cooking.

[Seshat]

It could mean that a person is, you know, GOOD at cooking.

I can't imagine anyone who's GOOD at cooking choosing to cook at McDonald's for any reason other than desperation.

Now, good at food hygiene and capable of producing edible food: sure. But not someone who enjoys cuisine.