I get it, grammar is an important skill set that needs to be part of our lives. Since I want to teach English to high school students, it’s going to be my number one priority as a teacher. The thing is, I wouldn’t go overboard like Kyle Wiens. The dude is a major prick, but I still get where he’s coming from. Yes, having good grammar is essential in a professional setting, but it’s okay to make mistakes. No one has perfect writing, not even skilled writers. We’re human, not robots. Clearly, that’s what Wiens wants as his employees. He wants robots who can be perfect and get the job done without making any mistakes.
Something he wrote in his article made me chuckle: “Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in emails, and on company websites, your words are all you have.” Again, yes, having good grammar is important in emails and on company websites. In a blog post? Maybe, If it’s a personal blog, then by all means, write how you want, just make sure it’s still readable. But having good grammar for Facebook? Who the hell is going to care about your grammar on Facebook? Seriously, I would like to know. Unless you’re in a debate on Twitter (I’m never calling it X) or Facebook, then yeah, make sure you’re using good grammar because they will use it against you. In all honesty, though, I see more posts on Twitter with the worst grammar ever, and they still get huge amounts of likes.
Either way, Wiens’ policy of making people who want to work for him take a grammar test is too controlling and extreme. While he does seem to make exceptions for those who have learning disabilities or are English Language Learners, it still feels forceful to require those kinds of tests. Lavenda Oluoch writes: “Immigrants shouldn’t be forcefully encouraged to read, write, or speak English just because they are in America or in order to catch up with everyone else. They are already making their own efforts to learn the language on their own, and just because English is not an immigrant’s first language doesn’t mean that they can’t exercise their democratic rights or fail to integrate with the mainstream. It is not a barrier.”
This reminds me of my mom. She’s lived in this country for a long time, and to this day, she is still grasping the English language. She can speak it and sometimes understand it, but she struggles with it, especially with grammar. I love my mom, but helping her learn how grammar works in English sometimes makes me lose my sanity. It’s worth it, though, because she’s trying and making the effort. Even when she makes mistakes, it’s okay because, after all, no one’s perfect.
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