I am sorry about my grammar. I'm out of practice and I tend to rush things. So I will slow down and and take my time. by the way it takes a lot to scare me off.
John

In it's own way, the response, almost completely negative, highlights some of the aspects that can make it very difficult not only to introduce, but to keep the younger generation involved with any activity populated largely by "baby boomers". It was immediately determined that the poster was a young guy, and instead of just noting what he said was a joke and that he should pay a little more attention to the rules of the English language, we're up to two pages of comments on how great everything was when people hit you with rulers. From experience, some of the worst grammar and handwriting imaginable has come from the older generation, in fact RYPN is very unusual in regard to the quality of the vast majority of messages. Regardless, it doesn't help anything to attack someone like a bunch of wolves on an injured deer just to make a point about how stupid everyone born in the last thirty years is.

I'm 26, was never hit with a ruler by a teachers even though I probably should have been, and I have a relatively good grasp of the language. However I rarely can remember all the rules of punctuation or where I need to put an apostrophe. There is a reason English, and American English especially, is known as the "Magnificent Bastard Tounge".

Maybe if fewer people had literally had their lessons beaten into them, they'd be less inclined to beat their views into everyone else.


Off the soapbox now.

Taylor

Sorry Taylor...couldn't resist...I believe it is spelled "Tongue". With 4-5 inches of new snow on the ground overnight, I'm off to shovel the walks. May we all lighten up and look forward to the projects ahead.

sc 'doc' lewis

Ha! You know I knew that if I was going to rant, there would be at least one typo in the post that would allow someone a chink in the armor. And to think, I spent five minutes switching back between "is" and "are" instead of noticing that I used a word that probably doesn't exist. Guess I needed a few more slaps with a ruler.

Taylor

BTW, both my posts have been done on an iPhone, and if you write more than a few sentences, it isn't very easy to review what you wrote, so that's my lame excuse for that.

Mr. Rush said it far better than I can, but also being 26, and the son of two educators, I cringe a bit when I see the the English language pummeled into submission. That said, however, I don't think the Railway Preservation movement is in any position to turn away people with interest simply because one or two people scoff at their typing/speaking skills, no?

At any rate, bad grammar isn't just a "young kid" thing, nor is it a result of computers being used in schools. In my opinion, that's all just a convenient excuse for folks from previous generations to say current youth are lazy, dumb, or whatever other description you care to use. (I'll pass on taking in that debate any further here on RYPN.) As an engineer, of the non-railroad variety, I'm constantly amazed by people who are far more intelligent than I could ever dream of being, but who at the same time cannot form a sentence to save their lives. And some of these are people in their 50's, 60's, and beyond. Don't think it's just "us kids."

Point is, I tend to think if you're going to have someone be the public face of your organization, try to ensure they can dot their i's and conjugate their verbs. However, there's no need to "throw up your hands, say the hell with it," and just assume kids today are idiots. A little encouragement goes a long way. And if you can't encourage, maybe try just not speaking up?

End rant. Thanks for indulging me. Can we go back to talking about HT stokers or something now?

**I take full responsibility for any typos, grammar mistakes, and the like in this post. They are not the fault of my parents, my teachers, or the Obama administration.