In a message dated 9/25/2007 10:29:20 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
I
don’t care which system wins out, but I wish we’d hit a firm consensus soon so
I can stop worrying that I’ll get my students in trouble by teaching them the
wrong
Bill,
In middle school, I teach this the same way you do, and I explain
to my students why the singular "their" is gaining acceptance. It drives
them crazy. They want to view language as a simple set of rules that they
can learn and be done. The idea that they have to take audience into
consideration doesn't seem "fair" to them - that they might someday not get
a job or into a school of their choice because they misjudge an audience really
makes them angry.
My answer, "welcome to the real world," doesn't seem to help.
I try to help them sort it through, but they want me to give them set-in-stone
answers.
~Gretchen, who still can't answer ""It is me" to the question "who
is it?"