With school starting teachers have never been more in the news with their number dwindling due to factors too numerous to count.
So today I’ll repeat a habit I developed as a not very good student, taking a shortcut by sharing some humor I didn’t create. The author is unknown, but this does illustrate one of many challenges school teachers face every day,
WHY ENGLISH IS HARD TO LEARN (OR TEACH)
We’ll begin with box; the plural is boxes.
But the plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, and two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose is never called meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a house full of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
Plural of man is always men,
But the plural of pan is never pen.
If I speak of a foot, and you show me two feet,
And I give you a book, would a pair be called a beek?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why wouldn’t two booths be called beeth?
If the singular’s this and the plural is these,
Should the plural of kiss be ever called keese?
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methern.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him;
But imagine the feminine … she, shis and shim!
Me thinks you gets my point. Even Basic English is tricky to teach, so throw in manners, respect, punctuality, hygiene, and the long list of skills classroom teachers are routinely expected to share with our kids and the challenges become clear.
Singular or plural there is only one way to say THANK YOU to you wonderful people who work in our schools.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are a blessing.
I’m Steve Sauder
