The Haunting

Do you have a teacher who still haunts you to this day? I do. Mrs. Gilbreth was my 11Th grade English teacher and she was deeply dedicated to producing competent ant writers. She particularly hated "To Be Verb," and deducted one point for every "To Be Verb," in your essay.

"To Be Verbs" include am, is, are, was, were, be, being, and been. These eight words haunt me every time I write. I re-read my post and grow instantly dissatisfied when I see the offending verbs. I typically attempt to ignore them but most days I find myself editing and re-writing in an hoping to rid myself of them.

Despite my English class nightmares I feel very thankful for the committed teachers of my past especially Mrs. Gilbreth. I just wish her lessons on how to properly use commas had equally impacted me.