I was so relieved to survive and get out of Ms. Brooks' class. When we returned for seventh grade, they had moved her up! So we got to spend seventh grade together. I had to buy another rat trap folder.

Her teaching stuck. I can't remember every rule, but to this day I can't stand to hear the language butchered by incorrect grammar.

For instance, when I read the sports page and the write-up on last night's Braves game, it drives me crazy to see Bobby Cox speaking in incomplete sentences. What is it with Cox and sentence fragments?

The write obviously asked, "What happened on that pitch that Nagy blasted?"

Cox responded, "Bad pitch. Bad location. Left it too high in the strike zone. Can't expect to get them out like that."

Or, "Great defensive play by Gilly. Just what we needed."

Anytime I hear someone use the wrong case in a sentence, something from seventh grade kicks in and I want to pull them to a blackboard and immediately diagram their sentence to show them correct usage.

Someone says, "Him and me just hit it off."

Ms. Brooks would say, "What is wrong with that sentence?" and we would say, "It doesn't sound right."

Ms. Brooks would say, "That response is not good enough. You need to tell me the rule. Why are Him and Me incorrect in this sentence?"

Finally, we learned to say that "him" and "me" are in objective case and shouldn't be used as subjects.

Or, someone says, "I am so thankful for what they did for my wife and I." Since "I" is in nominative case, "I" should be used as the subject, but not the object of the preposition. The correct word is "me," which is in objective case.

I can't just read for pleasure. A split infinitive jumps off of the page. A comma splice or a dangling participal begs for correction. Ending a sentence with a preposition drives me crazy.

What I learned from Ms. Brooks gave me so much confidence that, on one occasion, I actually corrected my college freshman English teacher. I was a foolish young man, but Ms. Brooks would have been proud. The teacher was gracious, but, looking back, I should have talked to her in private after class instead of raising my hand and correcting her in front of the whole class. However, she was wrong on that point of grammar, I was right, and I learned it from Ms. Brooks.

Oh, well, we all have our issues. I blame one of mine on Ms. Brooks, but, somehow, 35 years later, her teaching stuck. Let that be an encouragement to those investing their lives in teaching young people.