Yesterday I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite things, Cold Stone ice cream. As I stepped through the door and into the delicious aroma that can only be associated with an ice cream shop I was greeted by two, presumably high school aged, boys. Our first minute together went a little like this:

- “Welcome to Cold Stone!”
- “Thank you. How are you?”
- “I’m good, thanks,” said the scruffy-haired blonde.
- “Well,” quietly corrected the brunette with glasses.
- “Huh?” piped the scruffy hair, looking confused.
- “You say well. I’m well, not good,” explained the glasses.
- The scruffy hair looks even more confused.
- “Right?” the glasses asked, turning back to me.

Two faces stared at me. One face was saying, “What a moron. Can you back me up here, please?” The second was saying, “Seriously? What is this nerd talking about?” Neither expression was even remotely close to, “What flavor of amazingly delicious ice cream would you like to enjoy today?” Clearly I was going to have to sing for my supper, or in this case ice cream. Thankfully this was an easy song. (In middle school I was not-so-lovingly nicknamed The Grammar Police.)

Later, as I enjoyed my Cake Batter with brownie and sprinkles, I started thinking about the many mistakes in grammar and word choice that I hear all the time. ‘It’s’ is used to combine ‘it’ and ‘is,’ while the possessive form is actually ‘its.’ ‘Irregardless’ is not actually a word, and there definitely is a difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect.’ But how did we get this way? And does it really matter, or is my aversion to incorrect grammar just a personal pet peeve caused by spending so much time with words?

So I ask you, what is your opinion on the importance of proper grammar? Are there situations in which it is ok, or even dare I say better, to use what is grammatically incorrect? And are we poorly educated, or just lazy?