Add Grease to the Slippery Slope While You're at it!

If you have read The Bowl for any amount of time at all you know that I am completely against wasting time and money that can go to better causes. Well, now I'm torn. Here's your news story but of course as always I'll give you the skinny too.

Its a catastrophe for the apostrophe in Britain

Officials in Britain have removed apostrophes from their street signs. No more possessives will be part of the street name - even if the name of the street was possessive when it was named. Why? Because apparently councils all over England have been dedicating untold hours to debating whether they should keep the apostrophe or just let it go. The made a decision and eliminated the debate so that they good dedicate time to more important things.

I should be happy about this but I'm not. What about proper grammar? What about education? The most disturbing part of this story for me was the quote:

"Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate, and are not needed," he {Councilor Martin Mullaney} said. "More importantly, they confuse people. If I want to go to a restaurant, I don't want to have an A-level (high school diploma) in English to find it."

I'm sorry? They aren't teaching apostrophes until high school in England? And why shouldn't EVERYONE strive for an A-level degree? Have education standards collapsed all over the globe?

I know I don't always use perfect grammar and punctuation here on my blog but I think I could still pass a high school English class. I think I still manage to put together coherent and content heavy pieces. For an elected official in what I hope is an influential position to blow off English grammar, is atrocious to me.

What next? We get rid of commas? (Not that I would mind. I always screw those up!) Are we going to drop the apostrophe in contractions too? Will we just start spelling everything phonetically?

Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill but you decide. I'd love to hear your take on it!

Is the Media out to Just Tick me off This Week?

New Hampshire is looking as shaving 2 years off of high school so that we can send students to college at 16 instead of 18! No kidding! Check out Should Kids Be Able to Graduate After 10th Grade? and take time to read the full article.

I am having a hard time figuring out where to even start with this. I want education improved in our country. I am all for mandatory Pre-K and higher teacher salaries. I would even be in favor of the idea put forward by The West Wing - the GI bill version for teachers. Get a teaching degree and we'll pay for it if you will teach for at least x number of years - and maintain a high standard of performance.

I will NOT rush my children through school. I would be appalled to send a 16 year old off to college. These poor kids have barely wrapped up puberty and you are sending them to college? If you thought you had a problem with underage drinking before, toss a glut of 16 year olds into the mix. At least the states would be able to raise revenues from DUI fines and arrests.

I graduated right after my 18th birthday. I went to college in the fall and I declared a major right away. I hated my college and I hated my major so I transferred and changed majors. I busted hump in college and finished on time (in spite of transferring) with a BA in Christian Studies. Ask me how I'm using that now. Yeah, I'm not! Ask me what I would have majored in. Business. Or I might not have even gone to a traditional four year and I would have gone to culinary school instead and become a master chef somewhere or at least a pastry chef.

How can you expect a 16 year old to know what they want to major in? And if they are graduating at 20 what happens next? Are they really ready for the corporate battle ground?

I really think between the growth hormones yesterday and New Hampshire education today that there is a conspiracy to make children grow up too fast and another one to just tick me off!