Thanks for the letter

Bravo to Gail Ginell and her very well-written letter to the "Acorn." As a teacher, I frequently notice mistakes in grammar and punctuation, particularly (as Mrs. Ginell expressed) the increasing misuse of the apostrophe.

These mistakes drive me crazy. I understand when they come from children, but not when they come from adults who are often finished with their schooling.

Last week at my doctor’s office, a note was posted which read: "We are expanding so that we may better meet our patient’s needs." I thought, how nice of them to expand to meet the needs of just one patient (the note should have read "patients’ needs").

I brought Mrs. Ginell’s letter to my 4th grade class this morning and asked my students to correct the mistake printed on the JC Penney’s sweatshirts ("Mom’s are Wonderful"). My students enthusiastically stated, "There is no apostrophe unless it’s a contraction or possessive!" They can also correctly tell you when to use: who’s versus whose; its versus it’s; there, their, and they’re; and the seemingly always troublesome your versus you’re.

Incidentally, these are children who are learning English as their second language. It is a shame that native-English speaking adults don’t have a better handle on the proper use of their own language. Hopefully this is not a trend which worsens.

Tina Aschenbrenner

Thousand Oaks