I don't normally make fun of students' or others' grammatical/spelling issues because Lord knows I am not a genius when it comes to mastering the English language or any other language for that matter, but seriously, why does it seem like everyone as of late has been spelling "patience" (i.e. "I have no patience for lazy students") as "patients." I received three emails from 2 students and 1 professional person who I'm working with (I won't name names) who have signed their emails with "Thank you for your patients" in the last two weeks.
At first, I thought perhaps the OED had decided to change the spelling of the word because the term had become common slang. So I went to m-w.com and found out that clearly that isn't the issue. Sigh. I guess it's just our super crappy educational system that has let these students slip by with lazy grammar and spelling.
But then I'm left wondering about my role as a teacher when I get these sorts of emails. Do I email them back, play the part of Super Snobby Professor, and tell them it's "patieNCE" not "patients?" Or do I just let them go through life unaware of the fact they sound incredibly ignorant when they sign their emails with that phrase? I certainly appreciate being corrected if I'm spelling something wrong, using the wrong phrase/word, or grammatically incorrect. But I think I might be the exception.
So for now, I guess I'll just let them continue signing their emails with "patients." Hehe.
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