In Defense of Proper English and Writing in the Age of Smartphones

I'm going to try to be reasonable and realistic here. I understand the times and the age in which we all live. I will, however, make a simple argument and, hopefully unsurprisingly, complain about what someone once said to me about my writing habits.

So, one day a friend with whom I'm still currently angry (this friend has actually inspired several of my rants — I bet you wish you knew who it was) asked me, over instant messaging on Gmail, why I always write correctly and correct typos. I was, of course, offended by this. I found it to be a) a stupid question, b) a worthless discussion, c) an unwarranted judgement, and d) a waste of time.

This friend's opinion was that because it was informal writing and because she is smart, I do not need to write properly because she can figure it out if a mistake was made, punctuation is missing, etc. She apparently thought that me writing correctly while instant messaging was somehow pretentious or pompous or something. I wrote back that writing correctly is simply what I do, what should be done, and what should be everyone's only option and habit. 

Therefore, my argument is this: We should all write properly all the time. 

Is it really that much more work? I think you can do it. It is actually more work for you if I force you to constantly decipher and infer meaning from my lazily written messages. I will say, however, that I don't really mind if you don't write properly and use modern shorthand techniques in informal settings like social media and texting (though these too require formal writing from time to time). And, yes, it may save some time. But, remember that you are forming something of a habit and you may have to really check yourself when you are writing in formal situations.

Let's not forget that our smartphones and tablets are computers with Internet access. So, if you aren't sure about a punctuation or grammar rule, look it up. This website is my go-to: https://www.grammarbook.com/

Finally, remember that we are judged by how we write. Social media is our ever-important image that we must maintain for many people in our lives, but our professional emails, cover letters, résumés, college essays, and other pieces of writing serve as our image for the other people in our lives — the people who sometimes make important decisions that affect our lives and our futures. People usually see how you write before they meet and see you. This is important for us to bear in mind.

I'll close by saying this: If you're going to break the rules of proper writing, at least know the actual rules first.

"Things Are Good. Why Do I Feel Bad?"

While some don't quite get his humor, I believe that Jerry Seinfeld is a comic genius. I grew up with his sitcom in the '90s and it, along with a handful of other influences, shaped to a great extent my own sense of humor and what I believe is funny. Jerry, like nearly all of my other idols, does not care what other people think. If you know me, you already know that this is a quality that I value highly. Jerry says what he wants, when he wants to, around whomever he's with, in any situation. In many years of doing just that, Jerry Seinfeld has actually—probably to some people's surprise—dropped some serious and legitimate pieces of real wisdom.

Most of these wise words (that I've heard anyway) have been spoken on his online show Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee (on Netflix). While cruising around and hanging out with fellow comedians, Jerry has surprised me numerous times with his many applicable and useful observations, anecdotes, and conclusions. Because the show is just Jerry and another person talking about whatever, it gives viewers a fairly unfiltered glimpse into Jerry's thoughts and beliefs.

One example of this wisdom I'm speaking of is when Jerry was describing how small, annoying things that happen to us should actually be viewed as lessons. One time he talked about (if I'm remembering correctly) a person stubbing his/her toe on the corner of the bed, and how this is just the universe teaching you that that is where the corner of the bed is. Now you know.

Things like that. He says so many things that make you go, "Hmmm... that's pretty spot on. I should remember that."

Tonight I'm going to see Kevin Hart live here in Denver, so last night I watched the episode of CICGC with him. (Hilarious, by the way.) Anyway, at one point Kevin and Jerry are talking about how Kevin grew up in some tough circumstances and realized that he had to work really hard to get out. They also discuss how Kevin's kids won't experience the same struggles he did growing up. The two of them talking about the difference went as follows:

Jerry: "Your problem was, 'Things are bad. I gotta make it good.'"
Kevin: "Yes."
Jerry: "Their problem's gonna be, 'Things are good. Why do I feel bad?'"

The reason this is so true, relevant, and powerful is because of who it's coming from. Jerry Seinfeld has anything and everything he wants, and yet, because he is so honest, his family, friends, and fans know that he is not always happy. None of us are. I think we should stop expecting to be and we should limit the extent to which we try to show the world that we are via social media.

The sudden loss of Anthony Bourdain earlier this month hit me and millions of others like a wrecking ball. There were so many questions and confused utterances: "But, why would he do that?" "He had everything." "He was rich." "He was famous." "He had the best job in the world." "He was, like, the coolest guy on earth." These things, as it turns out, do not always matter.

It is ironic that the more we reveal about ourselves on social media, the less authentic we actually are on social media (most of us, anyway). We are all guilty (it's how, intentional or not, the system is designed) of displaying only our best self—our "happy" moments, our highlights—on social media. "Look at me! I'm doing great and my life is so interesting!" Or, "Look! I'm with people!" Or, "Look at me! I'm not at home!"

I have thought for years about how this can change, but the more I think about it I realize that it probably won't and, perhaps, for good reasons. Should we turn social media into updates of the mundane minutiae of everyday life? I do not, in fact, want to know that you have aggressive diarrhea today. No, it will stay the same: our highlights. And maybe that's okay.

But, I argue here that we should focus less on "is this an Instagrammable moment?" and "Wow, look at him/her. I wish I..." We need to compare our lives to others much, much less. We need to be okay with the ups and downs of our emotions. We should appreciate and value what we do have. We need to always remember that we live relatively comfortable and even luxurious lives compared to billions (yes, with a "b") of other people around the world.

In closing, I encourage you to read this article and watch the episode of The Break with Michelle Wolf on Netflix. She does a fantastic job of addressing this issue and asserts that it should be okay for us to say that we're not doing great sometimes. And that we should listen when those close to us say it too.

Six Years Down

My sixth year of teaching is complete. Like every year, I learned more than I thought I would. That is, really, one of the most incredible things about teaching — how you can keep learning new things, learn more about how to do your job, learn more about students/teenagers and their parents, learn more about how the politics of education really work, and learn more about yourself.

Overall, it was a good year and I did a good job. I only took one day off, my students learned a lot and became better students and better people, I taught two new classes that I had never taught before, I helped design the new economics curriculum for the district, I learned some important lessons, I sharpened many skills, I received many letters of thanks and appreciation from students, and I feel more ready to continue the daily battle.

Now, I will say, with some (not much) guilt, that I did my fair share of complaining with colleagues this year. This was the year, after all, that teachers across the country put their foots down and said, "I've had it." The many walkouts and strikes should serve as a pretty big wake-up call to the clowns and crooks who make education policy while lacking the requisite experience in education. It should also serve as a wake-up call to the everyday American, the one who thinks that teachers have it "easy" because we "get off" at 3:30 and have summers "off." Once again, as I've said numerous times, come to my classroom for one day. Come see how it really is.

My colleagues (without whom I don't know if I would have survived this year, actually) and I vented daily about the countless injustices in education, the lack of awareness of our administrators and the instructional superintendents who tell them what to do, the plight of teachers fighting against the students' apathy and phone obsessions, the goofy things students did or said in our classes, how much we have to deal with each day, and how, despite all of this, people still don't give us the respect we deserve. We also frequently talked about our good students—the ones who give us the hope to continue—and successful teaching strategies. We shared funny stories and helped each other with ideas. We made each other better and kept each other afloat. I owe so much to Mr. T and Mr. M, both of whom will not be returning to my school next year.

This year, as I was growing increasingly frustrated with my school's administration, I came to the realization that I don't even work for them. Technically, the principal is my boss, but only technically. I don't do the work I do for him. I don't go in each day and think, "Well, I need to make the boss happy today." I do it for my students, for society, for me. 

I am the boss of my students. I like being the boss. And, as I have realized, I am my own boss. No one makes me go home after an exhausting day and do more work until 10 p.m. No one makes me work all weekend. I do it because I believe in what I'm doing. Yes, of course, I kind of have to to succeed at my job, but I don't do it for the principal. I don't have ill feelings towards him or the assistant principals; it's just that in my way of thinking, I am the only boss that I need.

Now, to shift gears, I will once again urge any parents that may be reading this to limit your kids' screen time and MAKE THEM read actual books. If your child is not reading at grade level by the end of third grade, statistics show that he/she might not ever catch up (and, according to those same statistics, will be more likely to commit crimes as an adult). It is up to the parents first and foremost to prepare their kids for the world, so please do. Also, make sure your kids have a nice, quiet, comfortable place at home to do homework, study, and read (even/especially during breaks from school). While they do homework or study, take their phones away. Set time limits. Something like 20 minutes working, 8-10 minutes break, 20 minutes working again will work well.

The big lesson that all of us need to learn is that teachers cannot—and should not be expected to—solve every problem or completely "fix" kids that need help. Parents and the schools themselves (that is, administration and other staff, not just teachers) must do more.

The Whirlwind That Is Teaching The Week After Spring Break

If you are not a teacher or never were a teacher, you will never, ever understand it. There are many times when I ask myself, "Why did I choose the hardest thing possible... again?" I chose to play hockey, which requires a strange amount of equipment. I chose the double bass (stand-up bass), one of the largest and most difficult instruments to transport (and play, too). I chose teaching. The profession that requires you to sacrifice your social life, your nights, your weekends, your hopes of dating and meeting someone and actually having time to devote to him/her, your hopes of living a somewhat normal life. The profession that is underpaid and underappreciated. The profession where you're expected to fix everything. And the profession in which everything is somehow your fault.

Last week was our spring break. Now, most people get to relax during their breaks. Teachers? We can relax during our breaks, but doing so will most assuredly lead to the week of school after being a deeply regrettable, soul-crushing span of time that will likely shorten your overall life expectancy. My week back so far has been nothing short of a whirlwind of stressful, infuriating, confusing, and depressing moments. And it's only Thursday. And we didn't teach on Monday.

The purpose of this post is to enlighten non-teachers to the unspeakable things we go through and have to put up with every day, and to make all teachers that read it simply say, "Sounds about right." Even though I didn't have students on Monday, I will still start with Monday because what I experienced was essential to comprehending the teacher experience.

Monday

We started the week back from spring break with a staff meeting. There was no email on Sunday or any prior day informing us of what we were supposed to do, if we should bring anything, or what time it started. As we are sitting down, we are frantically informed that we should have our laptops with us. We, of course, reply as dryly as possible, "An email informing us of this would have been nice, and not difficult to send." Up to the third floor to get my laptop I go. 

The first thing on the never-shared agenda was to go over survey data (my school district's favorite word). Before break, our administration sent us a survey asking our opinions about the current issues with the school uniform policy, which is, just so you know, a complete disaster. They like to send surveys to teachers; they know it makes us feel like we have a voice. Six years in, however, not once have I noticed any discernible change that happened as a result of teacher feedback. So, the principal read us the survey results in a defensive tone because nearly all teachers expressed that our current uniform policy and the enforcement thereof is a complete joke. Also, most teachers indicated that admin should be equally responsible for enforcing the uniform policy (which they don't, by the way). Enforcing uniforms, is, you guessed it, the teachers' job! It's not like we have other things to focus on, you know? Oh, and the cherry on top was that at the end of this part of the meeting, they gave us notecards to write down our comments about uniforms — another thing that will simply be ignored.

We then went over some other things, one of which was something we've already gone over multiple times this year. Next, we were released to lunch and self-directed time for the rest of the day. One thing we had to do was complete an online training for the upcoming SAT test. I agreed to help a colleague of mine with it. Well, since this is my life we're talking about here, this turned into an hour of us trying to reset his password with College Board. College Board had contradicting instructions on its password reset page, which was maddening. After two phone calls and many blocked attempts, we finally got it to work. An hour out the window, we proceeded with the online training, completed it, printed our certificates, and then continued with our day.

I went back to my classroom, got organized, got some work done, and then went home. That night, because of the various things I had to do during the day, I still had to plan lessons for the week at home and did that until about 10 p.m.

Tuesday

I started my classes off with a warm up and then went over the rules and expectations for, God willing, the last time, since it is now the eighth month of school out of a nine-month school year. Amazingly, incredibly, after doing this, I still had to ask students to take out their stupid earbuds and put phones away. Stunning. Three junior girls I have gossiped and talked about prom dresses for the entire class period. Three junior guys sort of did work and definitely did play an incredibly stupid card game on their phones every time I walked away. This all happened in an AP class, by the way. (My admin and/or school district can't seem to get it through their heads that they shouldn't allow phones, but still complain that students' grades and pass rates aren't high enough.) This class has a lot of missing assignments, and it appeared that they got very little done over the break.

In my last class of the day, a student pulled out a lighter and burned the edge of a piece of paper, a student slept in the back the entire class period (I usually don't allow this, but this student being quiet is something we're all grateful for), three groups weren't working together correctly even though I just went over expectations for group work right before, and students didn't take time I gave them to make corrections on an exam seriously.

Wednesday

Let's see, Wednesday there were a strange number of students absent, but it wasn't a bad day overall. One student, when asked if he wanted to talk about how to get his grade up, said, "No," which was sad and annoying. One girl somehow lost $90 in cash (which was out on her desk for unknown reasons) and distracted the whole class when she accused everyone around her of stealing it. It turned out someone hid it just to mess with her and it was found behind one of the trash cans in my room. What this shows, however, is the boy that hid the money cared more about doing that than learning. Another group wasn't working together correctly. When I addressed it with them, none of them said a word and ignored me. Cool. 

I had to go grocery shopping, an activity that I hate more than words can adequately describe, make dinner, and then plan for Thursday because I had absolutely nothing ready (because I actually took a break during spring break). Well I did the first two, but then fell asleep in my chair since I decided to rest right after I ate. When I woke up, I realized I still had to plan. What ensued was the teacher version of writer's block: I just couldn't think of what would be good to do in class. I had some ideas, but I wasn't sure. I ended up spending almost two hours, which went way past my bedtime, looking for good video clips about the Cold War. It was a real challenge to find good ones. Getting more and more tired and less able to focus, I still needed to plan another activity so I would have enough for the next day. I was so frustrated in that moment because this is the kind of thing non-teachers don't have to do. It's not fair that we have to give up our time to rest and recuperate to do work at home that will be largely unappreciated the next day.

Thursday

Thursday morning I had to meet with a representative from a retirement plan company to switch over my current plan from another company. Later, my AP class came in. The guys I mentioned earlier playing the card game on their phones were once again playing it as class was starting, confirming to me that they value that over my teaching and their educations. I took all of their phones away and separated them. After the class worked on the warm up, I called on three students randomly to share, one of whom was one of the girls that wasted Tuesday gossiping and talking about prom. Upon hearing her name, she rolled her eyes and then said, "I wrote the same thing as them." I said, "What did YOU write?" She then gave me a made-up, thoughtless answer (which was also incorrect). I told her that she needs to do it right and show me later. She tried to argue with me and said she didn't care, so I told her to go in the hall. She just left and didn't return. Yes, a junior in an AP class was too lazy to answer one question correctly and then argued about it.

It gets better though. The other two gossipy girls, even after seeing their friend get sent out, continued to blab away and not work. I asked them to either stop the conversation or move seats. Well, they chose to argue with me and be defiant. Then, one of them had the audacity to say that I was now interrupting her work time. I told her to get in the hall as well. She also left and didn't come back. I called for a member of the discipline team to come to my room to talk to the third girl. The three of us talked in the hallway and (hopefully) cleared up the issue. I have to deal with the other two this coming week, but we did call home and let their cheerleading coach know about the defiance and disrespect.

Then, during 6th period, I had several issues with headphones again (even though it's the eighth month of school) and one student taking his sweet time wandering the halls and talking to other students because he doesn't care about learning.

(Update) Friday
The perfect way to end a terrible week: forget to set your alarm and wake up an hour late. Luckily, my hair wasn't a complete mess, so I did what I could to get ready and ran out the door. Before 1st period, I saw a new student of mine slowly walking in the hall, and yet he still showed up to class over an hour late and refused to make eye contact with me when he came in. Then, he sat down for one minute, looked around, then got up and left without saying a word. This student has been nothing but disrespectful since arriving about two months ago. I've looked at his behavior history and it's not pretty. This student also refuses to talk to me about his grade, but has cowardly gone to the principal twice and asked him to talk to me about it, as if he's trying to get me in trouble or something (even though his grade isn't an arbitrary thing that I decide, which is what he thinks it is). I will deal with him this coming week.

Third period was a complete circus. It's a large class and, of course, they all know each other and are constantly trying to impress each other by acting out or trying to be funny. Fifth period was alright, but some of the same immature behavior happens in there too. Annoyingly, some of the girls that are usually good were trying to be sneaky and putting in their earbuds. I find this disrespectful on so many levels, and my students know this, but they still push. They still push. Every single class period, every single day.

After my last class of the day, I had to cover all content-related posters in my room to prepare for the SAT on Tuesday. Luckily, one of my students offered to help me, so we got it done quickly. The testing woman brought up the rack of butcher paper to the third floor and asked that it be returned to the auditorium after teachers were done using it. No one else would do it, of course, so I brought it down in the elevator, had to find an assistant principal to unlock the doors, and put it in the auditorium. That was the week.

Conclusion
It was quite a week. Overall, it was terrible. It was probably the worst week of this school year so far. What I wrote in this post is but a fraction of everything that actually happened. I've been doing this long enough that I'm able to brush most things that a non-teacher would find appalling aside. Let's hope that it was just because it was after spring break and students weren't fully focused. I usually don't have these behavior issues (except for phones). Let's also hope that administrators, parents, and students learn to take some responsibility and ownership and not put everything on teachers.

Like orchestra musicians are soldiers fighting to keep real music alive, we are soldiers for education and a better, more informed, more productive society. Let's hope that some people get their heads out of their asses real quick, because teachers can't do it alone, nor should we be expected to.

Ignorance: A Shining Example

Though there are countless examples of conservatives/Trump supporters removing any and all doubt of their utter, pitiful, hopeless levels of ignorance by not keeping their traps shut (or simply by how they voted), I would just like to analyze one here; I believe it will serve as a nice example.

Yesterday I was around a textbook Trump supporter: uneducated, blue-collar, has a very homogeneous friend group, rarely travels, doesn't read, doesn't read or even watch news, gets all his information from equally uneducated coworkers, at least a little racist... you know, classic. He is, in most ways, I will point out, a good person, however. Anyway, a piece on the news came on the TV about the current protests in Iran. Instantly, he began shouting that the protesters were "idiots." 

Now, let's analyze this and uncover the astounding level of ignorance displayed: 

• First of all, he has zero knowledge about Iran.
• He knows nothing about its past or current political climate.
• He knows nothing about its current economic situation.
• He knows nothing about why Iranian citizens are protesting. 
• (By the way, they are protesting because of high unemployment rates, inflation of food and gas prices, government proposals to cut subsidies that keep prices low, and they want some of the political leaders removed, among other things. Read about it here.)
• Here's where it gets even better: He evidently is unaware that Trump, Pence, and (presumably) the entire Trump administration support the protesters.
• Were he to find out this information, I have no doubt that he would INSTANTLY change his opinion of the protesters ("Wait, Trump supports the protesters and is against the Iranian government? Hmm, well then, yeah, keep protesting!").

What can we take away from such an example? Basically, how most Trump supporters think. In short, near instantaneous decision-making with or without facts (they don't care!), snap judgements, inflexible opinions, close-mindedness, single-issue voting, etc. As I've written about before, the Dunning-Kruger effect (which is, basically, knowing so little you don't even know how little you know, and, as a result, having inexplicable confidence) is on full display with these people.

Now, let's analyze on a deeper level. Why did this person instantly not like the protesters without having any prior knowledge as to why they were protesting?

• To start, I would guess that most examples of protests he's seen before involve more liberal/left-wing people, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement and, more recently, anti-Trump protests, the women's march, the marches for science, and so on. (Amazingly, I didn't notice one conservative complain about the tiki-torch-wielding neo-Nazis and white nationalists that marched in 2017 with helmets, body armor, shields, and weapons shouting racist (and completely incoherent) chants. Interesting.)
• I would also guess that seeing people throw rocks, damage property, and in general creating a chaotic atmosphere is disagreeable to him, therefore, they are bad people (again, without understanding why they're protesting).
• If he were living in Iran and experiencing the same things the citizens there are experiencing, perhaps he would be protesting too, since he is always dissatisfied with our government.

You see, Trump is just a symptom of the disease that is the Republican party, an entity whose greed, corruption, hypocrisy, lies, and shamelessness dumbfound me every day. I am, however, used to these pieces of human trash tarnishing our Constitution, our government, and our country every single day. The issue I have now is with Trump supporters. They are damaging our society and will leave scars on this country and world for generations to come. They are the laughing stock of the world right now and are hurting the image and reputation of this country.

They are treating politics and the well-being of our nation like a sport: as long as the other team loses, they're happy. They would rather see this country burn than let Democrats have their way. Trump won because of white backlash against Barack Obama being president for eight years. Period. End of discussion.

So, when you are too stupid to know that you have healthcare because of the Affordable Care Act, but think you don't like it because conservatives named it Obamacare to make you instantly hate it, you shouldn't talk before you do your research.

When you say you're Christian but support child molestors, rapists, adulterers, and all-around scumbags, I recommend keeping your mouth shut until you can admit you aren't a Christian. That's something many of us would love to hear you say.

Research what the Trump administration is doing. Research what your state and local governments are doing. Get informed — there's no excuse not to.