bgf...if you would agree to toss in some old Atlantic Monthly magazines, I'll gladly donate a copy of Warriner's English Grammar and Composition for all site users to share. That was the text that was used back when they still taught grammar in high schools. Lots of schools gave that up because we created a generation of English teachers that never mastered the subject themselves. The profs spent 3/4 of the time reviewing obscure literature and expecting good models to rub off. Then the best of these students went on to teach teachers.
I learned to write in my father's print shop where he used me as teenage forced labor at the Linotype, and at proofreading and copy editing. He was not a college man, but bright and well spoken. Mom was an English teacher, so at home, proper English was used. Yes, I was an English major, but I do not owe the bulk of my skill development to classrooms where I paid tuition.
To cut to the chase, the standard of literacy in this country is a national disgrace, dwarfed by the literacy of northern Europe and some places more obscure. The level on ALR appears to be well above the national average. PS: When I first retired I put in a stint as a community college teacher. In regular classes, lots of my thrust was fundamentally remedial, rather much on the 9th grade level. I would have no reason to distort the simple truth.
Everybody please go ahead and express yourselves as well as you can. Excluding Ph.D's and others of doctoral level, I will refrain from correcting egregious mechanical and usage errors, as I assume that the latter would wish to advance their formal educations. Also, guys, when I slip up, please let me know. Wayne
