Grammar and Grammarians

In elementary school you always view your teachers, librarians, and principles as people who seem to know it all and always use their grammar correctly. As a first grader you’re amazed at their talent and wonder if you could ever master the challenging task of grammar. I always strived to be just like my teachers, my mom (who is a teacher), and my older sisters who also seemed to be able to use their grammar correctly. Once I was in middle school I realized how important good grammar really is. It was clear to me that in order to succeed in high school and go onto college my grammar had to be perfect. During high school we were taught all forms of grammar and it came easily that I wondered why I used to think grammar was so challenging. As I went through high school my teachers always lectured us to use proper grammar and not the “slang” we use on the internet. The question came to me that is it okay not to use good grammar while online. I think that it’s important to use good grammar in professional emails and of course in school papers. However, when talking to friends on IM or just sending a short email to a friend or family member, our new short version of English with no grammar rules seems to be appropriate. I have come across many people who are constantly correcting other peoples’ shorthand English and sometimes I’m aggravated by it. If you are writing a private message who are others to critique how you write. The short hand, no grammar version of English is faster and more convenient. I do believe it is important to keep up you correct grammar and to use it in papers and professional emails but anything other than that it should be your own choice.

Academic Background and Future Plans

As a junior at Manhattanville College I’ve gotten a pretty diverse academic experience. I am a psychology major and a creative writing minor. I have taken a variety of core classes including economics, math, literature, and Spanish. I like to consider myself a pretty well rounded person when it comes to my education. I chose psychology as a major because I am interested in working with other people and helping them with their problems. From the courses I have taken I have found that working with children and their families would interest me the most. I chose creative writing as a minor because I’ve always loved to write and want to get better at it. I also thought it was important and complimented a psychology degree very well in terms of being able to write research articles or journals about professional experiences. I plan on pursuing counseling in graduate school and hope to work as a school psychologist or guidance counselor. I am most interested in working with middle school or high school students because you can really make a difference in their decisions to pursue college and to do something they are good at and love to do.
I feel that if I plan on working in a school environment it is very important that my writing skills are fully developed to be a good example and to also be able to help any student who are struggling with their writing. This class could help me do this and allow me to expand what I already know in a fun and interesting manner. I hope that this course can help me become a more confident writing and help me better accomplish my future goals.