the grammar snob in me

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Today  I was out with Corbin and Zach, spending the day doing summer stuff. We were at Jersey Mike's eating lunch. The boys were regaling me with stories from school or just stories, when I corrected Zach about the use of 'I' and 'me'.

I am an English Professor, so it stands to reason that I would correct his usage. I do not always, but in this case, he needed to use the correct pronoun and in the correct way.

The guy sitting at the table next to me actually rolled his eyes and shook his head and hmph'd at me. I laughed at his ignorance.  I want Zach to sound literate.

Really. I am not squashing poor little Zach's free spirit by asking him to say "Corbin and I wrangled cows on the prairie last week." Be creative, be a storyteller, be an astronaut, mermaid or zombie, but at least have proper grammar. Is there a time for formal and informal speech? Yes. Is there a time when you should be lax in your use of grammar? No.

I know that kids often times will talk in shorthand. What I mean is that there is always a dialect of sorts that develops from generation to generation, which youth use as a way of weeding out the eavesdropping of the "old folks." I am not saying that Zach cannot speak like that with his friends, but I want him to be aware of what is proper for all those others times. Not to mention the fact that when I listen to many adults speak about-town, they seem to have forgotten to give up their younger, generational dialect. They just sound illiterate.