This is why I’m a blogger and not an educator

Sandra Rose December 16, 2008

[EDITED: Dec. 16, 2008 4:18 PM (scroll down)]

The blogs are all a twitter about a blunder by Obama’s new secretary of education, Arne Duncan.

Obama nominated Duncan to be his secretary of education because, “He’s not beholden to any one ideology, and he’s worked tirelessly to improve teacher quality.”

Duncan is the CEO of Chicago public schools which ranks at the bottom percentile in standardized test scores compared to the national average.

Says Michelle Malkin:

An impromptu flub would be one thing. But Obama Education Secretary-designate — and Harvard grad — Arne Duncan was reading from a prepared text. Guess they teach inventive grammar at Haaaaahvahd. (LINK)

Still, I didn’t find anything wrong with what he said. That’s why I’m a blogger and not out teaching your kids.

UPDATED: The flub is when he says “My sister and I.” According to the Grammar experts, he should have said “My sister and me.”

sdsthomas

Did he say fwiend?
Candi Apple

Sandra, I am glad your not out teaching the kids too. The would learn that Rhi-Rhi is a princess and beyonce is the she devil. They would learn how to negative slurs on everything. LOL They would learn that having a black president (opps excuse me a bi-racial president) is the worse than being T.I. and Tiny. But most of all they should never aspire to be president because they are black (bi-racial)and cannot do they job. Thank goodness you decided to become a blogger. But, I am still addicted to the site because I know better and as impressionable as young minds.
Candi Apple

2 errors time to go home… *They would learn how to place negative slurs on everything*

*Not as impressionable as young minds*
https://sandrarose.com Sandra Rose

Candi Apple Says:

Sandra, I am glad your not out teaching the kids too.

******************************************

That’s “you’re”, not “your.”
browni007

I guess I have bad grammer as well. I didnt catch the problem. Oh well, I guess they need to send me back to Grammer school.
Candi Apple

LOL Sandra that’s comical Touché…
kalvonel

Well if Bush’s non-speaking, shoe-dodge’n self can still have the gall to speak on TV, then what’s wrong with Arne’s little flub? who hasn’t at least at one point gotten a little tonque-tied while reading a prepared speech? Everyone’s a critic
sdsthomas

Ahhh, he did get a little tongue-tied but it was cute. You can tell he’s mad nervous.
Amulet

He said, “a mentor and friend.”

I think if you’re speaking in front of such a huge crowd you might get nervous and stumble a bit, we are human.

It’s understandable.
Amulet

Sandra Rose Says:
That’s “you’re”, not “your.”
_____________________________

Sandra is proper.

Go head Sandra wit yo bad self! lol
ReadTheBlog

I thought Chicago had a bad school system, and was wondering why he selected that person, given their current title. Oh well – I feel sorry for the kids…
http://smokiesays.blogspot.com/ Smokie

Ok- I have to side with Sandra on this one. That is a real big pet peeve of mine. And this man is the Secretary of EDUCATION.

All of these Illinois idiots.

I’m getting worried.
http://smokiesays.blogspot.com/ Smokie

Ok – let’s be real here. This man WROTE and READ this speech. You don’t just write some wrong ish to say on tv in front of AMERICA as you are accepting your position as Secretary of EDUCATION. He wasn’t speaking on the fly. He was READING what he’d already prepared. This is shameful. And I’m pretty sure it’s one reason why Chi-town has such poor test scores. This is not just something to say whatever too. This is indicative of a real PROBLEM.
teecee

I DON’T JUDGE ANYBODY’S CRAMMER BECAUSE I WILL ADMIT CRAMMER AND SPELLING I HATED IN SCHOOL. IF IT WASN’T FOR MY GOOD LOOKS AND CHARM I WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT. LOL
ReadTheBlog

Teece, I always knew you were shallow LOL!
http://myspace.com/bwcoop Coop

@Sandi
@Michelle Malkin:

Let Michelle know that the correct grammar is “My sister and I.” which is what Mr. Ducan used and not “My sister and me.”.
alexander

They all read speeches. He had probably practiced it and was running over those words in reading it quickly and being nervous just said I instead of me. Its funny how people can pick out the simplest things and spend so much time on it. Put your a$$ up there, you’ll be sweating under the collar and spitting chunks on everybody in the first row.
terika83

“UPDATED: The flub is when he says “My sister and I.” According to the Grammar experts, he should have said “My sister and me.””

I could have swore the first way is the correct way to state it as well. At least that was what I was taught. What grammar expert called this crap?
cjlessie

Who cares? According to Sarah Palin you are probably in your mother’s basement w/your pajamas on writing this anyway. I guess this is an improvement? I guess….give me some info on the real “fake’ housewives of Atlanta.
JustSaying

I was taught ‘My sister and I’ as well. But now my kids correct me saying ‘My sister and me’. I sounds better plus it was the way I learned coming up. They are changing the rules mid stream and I am not buying it. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
AlwaysSweet

I was taught that the first way is correct as well. If he said “My sister and I” in the subject it would be correct. But if he said “my sister and I” in the predicate it would be wrong.

From what I understand “My sister and I went to the zoo.” is correct. But “You cannot go with my sister and I.” would be wrong.
alexander

i learned that you should be able to break it down separately and it be correct…like “my sister went to the zoo” and “I went to the zoo”…you can’t say “Me went to the zoo” so in that case you would use my sister and I OR “you cannot go with my sister” and “you cannot go with with I” the latter doesn’t sound right, so its gotta be “you cannot go with me.” in that case you would use sister and me.
https://sandrarose.com Sandra Rose

@ AlwaysSweet and alexander:

Did Duncan use the correct grammar in the proper context? I’m still confused.
https://sandrarose.com Sandra Rose

@ AlwaysSweet and alexander:

NEvermind, I broke it down like you both said and I applied it to what he said and he was incorrect. Wow, I learned something new today.
carmelita79

oh well. all the problems in the world and thats whats heavy on the brain. my sister and i instead of my sister and me (eyeroll)
MzTee

#21 and 22 thank you…I was so going to school somebody. The subject of the sentence is ‘sister and I,’ which combined would be the plural noun, We; whereas ‘sister and me,’ combined is the pronoun, Us. You would say: “My sister and I (We) went to the store.” NOT “My sister and me (Us) went to the store.” It would also be correct to say: “When we were younger, my mother would take my sister and me (Us) to the library on Saturdays.”

In a nutshell — If my ‘sister and I’ were the subject of his sentence, then he was correct. If my ‘sister and I’ were a prepositional object within his sentence, he was incorrect.