I Hate Commas!

Photo by Erika Munz

     That is a strange title for a blog, but it is how I feel!  Even the previous sentence annoys me because it has a comma and I am always debating where to put a comma when using the word, “But.”  If I put the comma after the “But,” it seems weird but it also seems weird before the word.  Either way, I feel like I am calling someone a Butt.  Don’t worry this is not the only topic for this post.  I also plan on discussing punctuation and grammar in general. wink

     I’m not one to follow rules and following rules of punctuation is part of that personality flaw, even though I am a National Board Certified Teacher in English Language Arts.  However, after I published my first draft of my first post, a dear friend messaged me that she enjoyed reading my post even without paragraphs.  I responded that I didn't know where to put the paragraphs and that I didn't understand blog etiquette.  She was politely amused and reminded me to consider my audience.
The fact that I was on my third glass of wine when I first published the post didn't help.  I also realized the lack of paragraphs resulted from my complete ignorance of blogging.  So I did some research and found a great site rich with lessons on blogging, Blogging Without A Blog, which is listed on the right-hand side of this page.  

     Realizations number 20+, I was making all the mistakes against which I warn my sixth-grade students.  The first and most important was to consider my audience.  My hope is that many educators will read my blog to give and receive support, something educators are desperate for in this country.  If I continue to vomit what is on my mind, without any consideration for my readers, I won't meet that goal. My post also gave little regard for variation in word choice, commas, and punctuation, to say nothing for all the clichés.  Perhaps all these years of reading middle school writing, spelling and punctuation left an unfavorable imprint on areas of my frontal lobe.  Never underestimate the effects of teaching for 29 years! In conclusion, (a phrase my students love to overuse, but I find very useful here) I promise to do better.