Booger-Brain: Teenagers Are At It Again

Theyre at it again; teenagers and their fractured language! It is getting progressively more difficult for me to keep a straight face when I work with them. I reviewed basic grammar with a group of three teenage boys, as I usually do this time of year, to prepare them for the state ELA exam. I had a tough time not laughing.

For the rest of you who have forgotten the rules...its grammar lesson time! In case you didnt know, proper nouns are capitalized, such as the name of a particular person (Elvis Presley), place (Toronto), or thing (Moby Dick). Common nouns name classes of people (singers), places (cities), or things (books) and are not capitalized.

It is very difficult to get a junior high school student (ages 12 14) to grasp that concept. They just dont comprehend the difference between a proper noun and a common noun no matter how creatively you try to teach it. They think dinosaur-breath and booger-brain should be capitalized. I keep trying to tell them that those words are not proper nouns, and therefore do not need to be capitalized. In fact, they are not even proper words to use in mixed company.

Then again, maybe we could add those words to the proper noun list and send it to the upcoming fifth edition of Strunk and Whites, "The Elements of Style".

Personally, I think teenagers should have their own book on rules of usage when writing. It would put state education standards on a whole new level.

Copyright 2006 by Pamela Beers. All rights reserved.

Pamela Beers is a freelance writer, educator, and horse trainer who works with K-12 students individually or in small groups. For more information on New York State standards you can visit her website at http://www.pamelabeers.com