Grammar Optional

This is getting completely out of control.

It's not how you speak English – it's about whether you know it at all.

That was the final word out of Arizona, where the state and two federal agencies reached a settlement over an allegation that the state was discriminating against teachers who may have thick accents or use bad grammar when teaching English-immersion classes.
...
The agencies alleged that application of a state law requiring English teachers to possess a good knowledge of the English language discriminated against Hispanic teachers and students.

I don't even know where to begin. Have we really come to a place and time in this country when ENGLISH teachers needn't know how to speak ENGLISH properly? How in the WORLD can a person who doesn't use proper grammar teach children the language?

Full disclosure: I freely admit that I'm a bit of a grammar nazi. Anyone who knows me will tell you that. I take pride in my son's ability to speak the language properly - much to the surprise and delight of many adults in his life. I also on occasion help a friend grade papers written by her high school students and can't tell you how dismayed I am when I ATTEMPT to decipher what it is they're trying to say.

It's bad enough that our younger generation is mangling the language to one that's nearly unrecognizable. How in the WORLD do we expect this to change if those who are supposed to be TEACHING the language to children are equally as ignorant as to proper grammar and/or pronunciation? What will become of those youngsters as they get older and try to make their way in the world?

Perhaps the proper use of the language is going by the wayside. I suppose these youngsters can hope that those in charge of hiring in the future are the same children whose papers I've been grading for years.

Sigh.

H/T Ol' Broad