I got engaged in a twitter fight about grammar with Chiew from @aClilToClimb (now @Chiew_Pang). Yes, I’m the math mom, but my college minor is English. And I tend to be a sharpie carrying, sign correcting, grammar vigilante.
I complained that Twitter has the link “Who To Follow” when it should be “Whom To Follow.” Here’s an excerpt from the fight:
The fight raged on.
This guy was so adamant that you could use “who” as the object in a sentence (clearly wrong), and just wouldn’t let it go. After quite a few tweets I got curious. “What’s this guy’s deal? All he has to do is pull out the Little Brown Handbook and read it in plain black and white.”
So I went and looked at his site. Holy cow! He’s a grammar blogger!
I couldn’t find his “About” page, but from what I could gather in his fervor in our twitter fight, he’s trying to do for grammar what I’m trying to do for math. Demystify, take away the “have to” rules, and make it accessible, acceptable and appreciated by everyone.
We make the rules!
The rules of grammar, like the rules of math, are created by humans and used by humans. They are changeable.
Of course the difference is that, in grammar, if you deviate slightly from the rules that others follow, you’ll most likely be understood. In math, you really have to define how you’re using things before you begin to work.
For instance, if I wanted to have a conversation with someone about a new way of adding fractions I was inventing, I could totally do it. As long as I started the conversation with, “Here’s how we are going to talk about adding fractions for the next hour…”
Make it your own!
Teaching math and teaching grammar are two of the fundamental things we do for our children. And neither should be hard, creepy or frustrating. They should be a normal, natural flow of who we are as people.
Another great math mom says, “Make math your own, to make your own math.” I’d bet Chiew would say something similar for grammar.
And for this, I respect him. </fight>
