Finding Mrs. Mischka
By Kahlynn Hunt
Recruiting Manager, Grammarly.com
Photo by: Joe Crawford from Moorpark, California, USA
My childhood curiosity was as insatiable as my energy was abundant. With a popsicle-stained tongue and grass-covered knees, my younger self pranced through the world like a wild thing — one shoe invariably untied. In elementary school, recess volunteers would remember me as this portrait of a young zealot, frozen in time. But there was one woman who saw me through a different lens.
Her name was Mrs. Mischka; she was our school’s librarian.
One hour per day, thrice per week, my first grade class stormed the cold, quiet labyrinth of books at the library to update our reading lists, puzzle through the Dewey Decimal System, and, of course, get an update on how many kids longer we had to wait to check out the newest Guinness Book of World Records. I always felt lost, sick of whispering, and eager to play outside.
Taking notice, Mrs. Mischka started spending special time with me to help find books that kept me interested. I don’t know if she actually allocated “special” time to me or not; I just know that I always thought of it as our special time together. I would report back to her with the details of the book we chose together the week before. I remember giving Mary Amato’s The Word Eater a fair review, but it wasn’t until she laid Andrew Clements’ Frindle in my hands that I truly became hooked on reading.
“This book is … good!” I exclaimed after reading Frindle. The book centers on a precocious fifth grader who decided to call a pen a frindle and ends up challenging not only his dictionary-loving teacher, but the entire lexicographical principle and the power we have on words.
It wasn’t until recently that I realized all of the books that Mrs. Mischka directed me towards as a child were about a spirited young person questioning authority, creating her own path, and standing up, against all odds, for what she believes is right. I can’t accept it as mere coincidence that I found my passion in philosophy and political science; two subjects that powerfully investigate the very thought patterns my inaugural mentor introduced me to at a young age.
Perhaps she always knew who I was meant to be.
On my last day of high school, I was called to the principal’s office. Although I hadn’t spoken to Mrs. Mischka since I was 11 years old and made the big move up to fifth grade at the middle school, she sent me a congratulatory card for all of my accomplishments to date. She had since retired and moved away, but somehow kept an eye on me as I climbed my way up and out of school. That summer, my parents sold my childhood home, I went off to college, and the card was lost before I had a chance to reply.
Lydia Mischka was the catalyst for my love of knowledge, language, and books. And today, what began as an overzealous young girl wandering the library in search of a good book, has become an accomplished young woman searching the world for that gentle librarian she found long ago. I’ve decided to contact my school district to find out where Mrs. Mischka is now. I know that she would be thrilled to learn I now work with a company that helps to improve written communication. She had a similar penchant for encouraging improvement.
Perhaps, serendipitously, she’s reading this now?
I can only hope that one day soon I have the chance to thank Mrs. Mischka for the positive impact she’s had on my life. I encourage all of you to take a few minutes to do the same.
Were you lucky enough to have a teacher impact your love of reading, writing, or learning? Share your story with us in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6 - 10, 2013.
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A woman of many hats, Kahlynn Hunt works with Grammarly to help perfect written English. Connect with Kahlynn, the Grammarly team, and more than 655,000 Grammarly Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/grammarly.
Ice cream lovers and language lovers, unite!
“Hi, World!
We want a Webby!
Our CEO says that if we win, we can have an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet!
(We love ice cream.)
Please vote and help us win a Webby!”
We’re not above begging for help when it comes to two things: improving people’s writing and ice cream. Time is running out! Voting for the People’s Voice Webby Award ends April 25th!
To help Grammarly.com win the People’s Voice Award, please:
1) Visit the voting page.
2) Click “Grammarly.com” (you’ll be prompted to sign-up the first time you click).
3) Share your vote with your friends.**
**Need an extra incentive? When you share your vote for Grammarly in the People’s Voice competition on Twitter (including @grammarly and #webbys in the tweet), we’ll automatically enter you into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card and a one-year subscription to the Grammarly Editor valued at $139.95.
See Grammarly’s official press release on the Webby Awards nomination here.
Thank you for your continued support, and keep writing!
Grammarly.com Nominated for 2013 Webby Awards
At Grammarly, we like nothing better than to hear success stories from writers all over the world—from students getting better grades, to professionals accelerating their career progress, to language learners improving their written English. We know that your success is our success, and vice versa.
That’s why we wanted to share some recent market recognition:
- Grammarly was chosen as a finalist in the 5th Annual Shorty Industry Awards for Best Overall Brand Presence on Facebook
- Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover was selected as a semi-finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 Award
On April 9, 2013, we added another achievement to the list. Grammarly.com was nominated for “Best Web Services & Applications Website” in the 17th Annual Webby Awards. As a nominee, we are also eligible to win the Internet’s top honor: The People’s Voice Webby.
The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, is considered the highest recognition on the Internet—much like the Academy Awards for actors or the Grammy Awards for musicians. Competition for awards is fierce. Within our category, we’re up against big-name brands, but the real effort goes into winning the People’s Voice Award. Every vote counts!
To help Grammarly.com win the People’s Voice Award, please:
1) Visit the voting page.
2) Click “Grammarly.com” (you’ll be prompted to sign-up the first time you click).
3) Share your vote with your friends.**
3) Rinse and repeat daily until April 25, 2013.
**Need an extra incentive? When you share your vote for Grammarly in the People’s Voice competition on Twitter (including @grammarly and #webbys in the tweet), we’ll automatically enter you into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card and a one-year subscription to the Grammarly Editor valued at $139.95.
See Grammarly’s official press release on the Webby Awards nomination here.
Thank you for your continued support, and keep writing!
Change Your Favorite Tune with Grammarly’s “Remix Your Rhymes” Contest
Change Your Favorite Tune with Grammarly’s “Remix Your Rhymes” Contest
Poetry gets a bad rap. Many people believe that it is old-fashioned, boring, or difficult to understand. However, modern forms of poetry can be quite dynamic. Music, for example, has a lot in common with poetry. Both are rhythmic, expressive, and emotive. Both also allow writers to take certain liberties with the conventional rules of language.
April is National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry in all of its forms. In commemoration, Grammarly is introducing a “Remix Your Rhymes” contest to encourage writers to take a closer look at the impact of proper writing on song lyrics.
From April 1, 2013 to May 10, 2013, we invite you to edit the lyrics of your favorite song and then record the new version of the song. Upload a video of your grammatically correct performance to our “Remix Your Rhymes” contest page, along with the name of the original song and the artist, and be entered for a chance to win a $300 gift card for Musician’sFriend.com.
For rules, or more information on the contest, please visit the “Remix Your Rhymes” contest page.
Does proper writing have a place in rhythmic art? Change your favorite tune and send the video to Grammarly in response!
“Like” our Facebook page? You’ll want to read this.
Do you know what Grammarly has in common with brands such as Dr. Pepper, Cartoon Network, Maybelline, Game of Thrones, and Purina?
We are thrilled to announce that Grammarly has been selected as a finalist in the fifth annual Shorty Industry Awards as the Best Overall Brand Presence on Facebook. The Shorty Awards honor the best in social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing real-time short content in the social web.
Since launching our Facebook fan page in mid-2010, Grammarly has experienced tremendous growth; we currently provide more than 600,000 fans with fun grammar tips and discussions, and serve as one of the largest channels spreading awareness about the epidemic of poor writing worldwide. Often, our posts serve as a tool to educate writers on proper grammar.
Check out our winning entry here, and share it with your social networks: http://industry.shortyawards.com/category/5th_annual/facebook_brand/1X/grammarly
The Fifth Annual Shorty Awards winners will be announced on April 8, 2013 at a ceremony in Times Square at the New York Times Center. Stay tuned, and thank you—as always—for your support and engagement.
Top Student Writing Mistakes: The Real “Madness” in Higher Education
According to some estimates, March Madness costs companies up to $134 million in lost productivity — with employees streaming the tournament online, updating brackets, participating in office pools, and more.
Imagine if the United States cared as much about the quality of a school’s curriculum as we do about the caliber of its basketball team?
In keeping with the competitive spirit of the NCAA basketball championship, the Grammarly team created a “tournament” of our own. We reviewed articles from 16 student newspapers at colleges across the country to come up with our own “Final Four,” as determined by the most well-written student newspapers. Here they are:
- The Stanford Daily (Stanford University)
- Statesman (Utah State University)
- Dartmouth Review (Dartmouth College)
- The Prospector (University of Texas, El Paso)
Congratulations to these exceptional student newspapers for the quality writing!
Is quality of writing a predictor of inclusion in the actual Final Four tournament? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, here is an overview of some of the most common writing mistakes made by students using the Grammarly platform.
What types of writing mistakes did you make as a student?
The Oxford Comma Debate
Guest Post from Jocelyn Blore
Proper use of punctuation used to be the territory of editors and lonely grammar enthusiasts. One punctuation mark, however, has been catapulted into the popular consciousness with articles by The Economist, NPR, Mental Floss, and others, not to mention a hit song by Vampire Weekend. I’m speaking of course about the Oxford comma.
Quick test: In a hypothetical Oscar acceptance speech to the Academy, which would be correct?
A: “I’d like to thank my parents, Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn.”
B: “I’d like to thank my parents, Bill Hudson, and Goldie Hawn.”
The answer is: It depends. If you’re Kate Hudson and your parents really are Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn, ‘A’ would be appropriate; if, however, you’re thanking four people (your parents in addition to the actors), ‘B’ would be the correct response.
Although the debate rages on, I am on Team Oxford Comma — confident in my belief that the Oxford comma is essential in clarifying meaning. Detractors, on the other hand, attest that the Oxford comma is unnecessary and redundant.
The following infographic examines both camps, as well as where mainstream publications are drawing lines. Which side are you on?
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Jocelyn Blore is a left-handed lover of Thai food and problem-solving. When she’s not juggling a soccer ball in parks around San Francisco, she writes for OnlineDegrees.com and Schools.com.
Bad Writing: What it Means for Your Career (INFOGRAPHIC)
Is poor writing an indicator that you will be less successful in your career?
Kyle Wiens, CEO at iFixit, suggested as much in a July 20, 2012 article (“I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”) which appeared in Harvard Business Review’s blog network.
Yesterday, in honor of National Grammar Day, Harvard Business Review posted another article (“Grammar Should Be Everyone’s Business”) written by Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. Brad’s article provides real data to back up Mr. Wiens’ supposition that poor grammar predicts poor career outcomes.
Here’s a breakdown of the data:
- Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their Linkedin profiles achieved higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level colleagues.
- Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.
- Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.
Are you interested in sharing the data? Tweet about it now!
Or, let us know what you think in the comments below. Have your writing skills ever influenced your career in a positive or a negative manner?
March Forth to Celebrate National Grammar Day
National Grammar Day is upon us! Last week, the Grammarly team asked our Facebook fans to share original photos that capture some of the exceptional, awkward, and hilarious writing errors that they encounter every day. As a result, we received nearly 200 photo submissions that visually represent some difficult facts that have become representative of the state of English writing skills today.
In the United States alone, low literacy (the ability to read and write) costs the economy $225 billion a year in lost productivity; and, writers who are not yet in the workforce are already foreshadowing negative outcomes. For example, student writing scores on the SAT have declined five points since 2011 and consistently represent the lowest student outcomes of any section of the test. As is evidenced by the photos we received of misspelled street signs, dinner menus, elementary school worksheets, and more, many English writers simply do not learn proper spelling and grammar skills.
Writing is one way in which people are measured, and a properly written sentence or paragraph can make the difference in receiving a passing or failing grade, job offer, promotion, or pay raise. National Grammar Day is a fun opportunity to celebrate grammar with photos, haikus, “grammar” crackers, and “grammartinis,” but let’s not lose sight of the overall goal of the day: To reflect on the importance of proper grammar.
Happy National Grammar Day!
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Grammarly’s National Grammar Day Photo Contest ran from February 22 to March 1 on the Grammarly Facebook Page. The winner of the contest and recipient of a $100 Amazon Gift Card as well as bragging rights on National Grammar Day is Julia Catton. Julia sent us this gem:
I guess they really do ship anything, anywhere.
Here are some more entertaining photos submitted for the contest:
Shared by Michele Lemmon
Shared by Tim Thompson
Shared by Crystal Thomas
Shared by Anne Marsh
Shared by Nancy Morin
Shared by Lee-Anne Lawrance
Shared by JoAnna Belligan Lewis
Shared by Amy Carroll
Shared by Johanna Brown
Shared by Emily Rohrer
Grammarly Announces Winner of $1,000 Scholarship
In mid-January, Grammarly launched its first-ever scholarship essay competition, encouraging students to share their thoughts on grammar.
We received an overwhelming response from students of all ages, in all disciplines, who wrote about topics ranging from the profound impact of texting on spelling and grammar, to the quality of writing instruction in public schools. After perusing your essays, Grammarly is delighted to announce the $1,000 scholarship winner: David Ahia.
David’s “punny” essay, which describes a time that spelling bruised his confidence, is not only well-written, but it tells a compelling story about the importance of proofreading. Congratulations, David!
To all of the participants in this year’s scholarship competition: Thank you for sharing your personal thoughts and anecdotes. The Grammarly team enjoyed reading each essay, and we encourage each of you to keep on writing.
