Edward, my hero

I can’t stand spelling mistakes or grammatical errors or incorrect punctuation or lack legibility in writing. If I ever see any of these - in an email I’ve been sent, in an article I’ve been reading, or (worst of all) in an assessment I’ve been given to mark, I cringe. When I was in school my friends would often pass me notes to forward on to other friends sitting in front of me. I would open the note, pick up a red pen and happily correct any such mistakes inherent in that little piece of highly folded and decorated file paper. I rarely paid attention to their contents. If you’ve seen one “do you like (insert name of schoolyard crush here)? Tick yes or no.” you’ve seen ‘em all.

This obsession has pervaded my adult life. I did get a little lax for a time but taking on teaching and the techno age promptly put an end to that. I refuse to use text speak (c u l8ter? Not if I can help it) and I’ve been known to take forever to scribe a simple text or instant message. I even delete and re-write erroneous errors that I make when updating such menial things as my facebook comment. Yes, I am just that anal. And if you’ve ever had to give up marking an exam paper until you can get a second (and third) opinion to confirm your suspicions about what the student has actually written, you’ll understand my issues with legibility. I have been known to compliment students on their penmanship. Yes, I am just that anal.

My reasoning is this – it’s really not that hard to learn how to accurately communicate in your native language. These little mistakes are often evidence of laziness or apathy and are easily corrected, yet a lot of people just don’t bother. Standards are slipping people, and I won’t be a party to it!

As a result I have found this cartoon to be utterly hilarious. Please excuse the colourful language. Edward is my hero.