I undercut my own point, incidentally, by misspelling ignoramus. So much for not being one . . .

I am sorry I took your comment as an attack on all teachers (though I do think that old saw about those who can and can't is overly broad and tends to be used to dismiss an entire class of people who, for the most part, are just trying to help students learn).

I actually agree with your basic premise. I just think ignorance of how to use the English language properly is not promoted solely by inadequate members of the teaching profession. I think parents teach their children bad language patterns and poor usage So do those in the entertainment industry -- particularly athletes but also those in the film and music fields. And don't get me started on public officials like presidential and vice presidential candidates, legislators, etc.

The mass media certainly picks up and promotes ignorant use of language -- I find examples of egregious errors in serious stories in newspapers all the time. Books are often sloppily copyedited and proofread before release and we all know how the language is fractured in advertising on radio and television.

I am not exaggerating when I say a lot of my students are woefully unprepared to use English as a tool for communication. This bothers me, and not just because I teach in a communication department. You would think that by the time somebody is a freshman in college they would understand the difference between "there," "their" and "they're," but many of my students don't seem to have picked up on which is which. They constantly pair singular nouns with plural pronouns, or plural verb forms. They often write in hideously passive voice (in my opinion, the only thing passive voice is really good for is avoiding responsibility when things go badly -- e.g.: "mistakes were made"). And they spell as many as one word in 20 incorrectly -- even when they are using spell-check!

I teach a lot of students who come to English as a second -- or third or fourth -- language, but they aren't the ones that have horrible problems using the language correctly. It's the kids who spent their whole lives in American schools that mangle the English language the worst -- and believe me, they are not screwing up nit-picking stuff like misusing the subjunctive, splitting infinitives or confusing which and that. They can't handle very basic items such as making sure that a sentence has an actual subject and predicate, including a direct or indirect object when necessary, keeping verb tenses straight, or avoiding flaccid words like "that," "really" and "very" that take up space but generally add little to reader understanding.

I am supposed to teach them how to observe, interview and do basic non-fiction writing -- how to organize a story logically, find an interesting way to begin an article and write prose that compels a reader to continue past the first sentence; But I end up spending a great deal of my time on remedial English. It is disappointing, but I figure if they get nothing out of my classes but the ability to string words together into a simple, direct and effective sentence, they are getting their money's worth.

I tell them that it they end up in any sort of responsible job at all, they are going to be writing for the rest of their lives -- even if it is nothing more exalted than drafting memos for the company suggestion box.

Those who can write well tend to do well. Those who can't are likely to fail -- not just in my class, but in the real world.