Sentence structures, prepositional phrases, the subjunctive, subject-verb agreements: all expressions undetected in the walls of public high school.

The last time I was assigned to practice sentence structuring or identify prepositional phrases was four years ago.

Since then, the only training I received on how to effectively write was through thousands of dollars worth of SAT prep classes. In those prep classes, the teachers had to reiterate basic grammar ideas to my class- ideas that should not have to be reiterated to 17 year-old students.

Why do I need to pay thousands of dollars to attend SAT prep classes in order to simply learn the mechanics of my own language?

Spanish class is not where I should hear the words ‘subjunctive’ and ‘past participle’ for the first time in my education.

Why I am not learning these grammatical foundations of the English language in actual English class?

I frequently hear adults blame factors which were not present in their day, such as spell-check technology, as the culprit that stole my generation’s intelligence. However, if that claim is true, why are today’s classrooms continually relying on Microsoft Word and Google Docs to submit writing, which rid us students of an education ten-fold?

Today’s education system is to blame for my lack of grammar comprehension.

I understand the decrease in grammar lessons is due to the time needed to completely comprehend the mechanics of the English language. Time and resources however need to stop being an excuse for public schools across America, or else this will lead to a generation reliant on technology rather than an inherent understanding- an illiterate mass.

I ask that my English teachers put down Hamlet for a moment and rather than telling me ‘to thine own self be true’ is important, please tell me how that can actually be considered a sentence.