The Grammar Police in the house

Sometimes I only get the chance to blog once a week. And since I can't always get up the motivation to think of a topic, it's nice to have other friends to blog with so we can take turns. I enjoy being challenged to write about stuff that might not normally come to mind and also reading everyone else's thoughts on the same topic. Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about a year now, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.

This week Moma Rock chose the topic: When you witness someone else making a mistake, what do you do? Do you believe it's a chance for lessons learned, or do you intervene?

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

I will admit I had a hard time coming up with what to say on this topic. It was so broad that I felt the need to narrow it down. And even then, it still felt like it could go so many ways. I didn't feel comfortable talking about witnessing personal, life-changing mistakes because we all make them in one way or another at different times. Then my older son had me check over his homework tonight and I got all obsessive over the spelling errors. I also read what the assignment was asking and felt he didn't do that, so I made him correct his work. He's in third grade and I want him to be accountable. I know my younger son's first grade teacher is more concerned about his handwriting and understanding how sentences work. However, third grade is more complex. My son is smart and is doing well in school, according to the parent-teacher conference I attended. However, I feel the need to correct his homework before his teacher sees it. I don't make the corrections, but I ask him to do it. I'm not as hard on my first grader with his homework, but I will still point out little errors that drive me crazy if they don't go corrected.

I'm not only the Grammar (and Spelling) Police with my family (and believe me, I've corrected my husband on things too), but also with friends. I have this mini-proofreader living in my brain and they won't leave me alone until I make sure errors are fixed at once. Don't even get me started on punctuation either. If I see so much as a comma out of place, I have to intervene! I'm sure I've annoyed people when I've pointed out spelling or grammar mistakes, but other people have appreciated it. I've been known to stand over someone and correct what they're writing as they are going along. I'm like the back seat driver of the writing world. One thing that frustrates me is when a book goes to final print and comes out with errors all over the place. If I were an author and those errors weren't caught before my book went to final print, I'd be fuming! Maybe some authors feel they just have to let it go and hope the readers aren't as obsessive as yours truly.

I don't know why I'm so obsessive about little errors or why it's so important that something looks right. Shouldn't I allow my kids to be kids and let their teachers correct them, if necessary? Why is it so important that their work be turned in with proper spelling and grammar? I feel that I'm preparing them for the future, where a little mistake could cost them in the long run. (I recently witnessed a mistake that could have cost someone a large amount of money, but thankfully the responsible party realized what they did and was able to stop it in time.) Having my kids be accountable for their work and how they present everything is a step in the right direction. After all, I don't want them to be Rachel Green and send off their resumes with a glaring error.