Isn’t it funny the things that stick with you years after high school. (Unless, of course, you’re still in high school…)

I had an English teacher who was not only hellbent on using the English language properly in print, but speaking it properly, as well.

About once a week, you would hear her telling some poor soul, if not the entire class, to “ahr-tick-you-late” when you are speaking. She said it all the time. Mumbling and poor speaking habits were simply not tolerated.

I think of her all the time as I read texts, listen to music lyrics, and listen to people speak.

She had extremely high standards and expectations for us, and she never let up. If she were still teaching today, there’s no way this generation of kids – at least not the ones in her class – would ever mumble or slur a word.

Imagine how she’d be seen today? I just saw this article from “The College Fix” about how Rutgers is deemphasizing “traditional grammar” to acknowledge some of the cultural differences between races.

She wouldn’t make it past the first day of school without someone accusing her of racism.

While this article is written like a college paper, let’s just call this what it is: The implication is that black people can’t speak English the way it has been taught for decades (if not centuries).

Again, this racism of low expectations is the worst kind. Inherent in this directive is the idea that black people can’t be expected to speak proper English.

Also of note, they also discuss their 14 courses dedicated to African-American literature. Why not just have courses on literature and include African-American writers? This distinction makes implies that their works, on their own, couldn’t break into the classes where “real” literature is taught.

Interesting that the most race-obsessed people in the country reside in academia, and they’re teaching all of our kids how to be racist.