Misusing and abusing the "air quotes"

I have noticed recently that there is a common problem pervading the lives of many expressive Americans. Because of this, I am writing a personal call to action in order to inspire those who are in a position of authority to start a revolution.

You know the gesture. It happens when someone wants to insinuate something and he or she lift his or her hands  leaving the index and middle finger in the upright position to make a sort of peace-sign-like-thing. Generally this gesture occurs somewhere in the region above the shoulders (but not above the crown of the head) and is punctuated by a bending and extending of the bunny ears fingers. This famous gesture, my friends, is called "air quoting" (Did you imagine me doing air quotes around the words air quoting? I hope so, because that would be awesome).

What I have noticed is that people are overusing the air quotes these days. My friends and I were musing about the overabundance of this specific gesture-based punctuation mark the other night and were trying to figure out reasons why this particular offense is so rampant. So, here are some reasons that we came up with (why not make a list?):

1. People simply do not understand why air quotes should be used. They think that it looks cool or makes them appear more intelligent to do this particular move, so they think, what the heck! Ima do it!
2. Some people are too nice and do not want to offend others. They air quote the words that would be slightly offensive, thereby lessening the emotional impact of what they are saying. There's a problem with this tactic, it just makes them look silly. That's all.
3. Some people think air quoting adds credibility to what they are saying. These people imagine their air quoted word or phrase is followed by a parenthesis, author's last name, and page number, as if what they had just said was magically published to a book of famous air quotes of the world. Although I totally appreciate any form of in-text citations and giving credit to the original source, this is not the original intention of the air quotes. They are to insinuate something, not to be a literal meaning.
4. Although this last one is a very small group of air quoters, some people out there think it is a dance move. I know. What planet do they live on? I'm not even going to try to justify this one, I'm only going to encourage them to add a little hip action and toe tapping to take their dance moves to the next level. If they put in a little more gusto, they might even start a dance revolution.

Have you noticed people misusing the air quotes, or any other gesture punctuation for that matter? Comment below!

Why teachers love the show "Super Nanny"

Recently I found myself glued to the television late into the wee hours of the night. I couldn't help myself because the show that all teachers love, Super Nanny, was on. The thing is, I didn't even know that I loved that show until I attended a professional development last month on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). As we were wrapping up our training, we discussed the role of expectations and consistency in the classroom and a wonderful teacher friend of mine pointed out how much she loved watching Super Nanny. That's the exact moment that it hit me: I. Too. Am. Obsessed. Jo is a hero and a saint. She teaches parents and viewers alike how to parent consistently, have clear expectations, and discipline with the perfect mixture of grace and strength. Plus, she says mummy instead of mother which of course reminds me of Harry Potter.

If you read the "About Me" section, you know that I love lists, so I decided to compose a list of why teachers love Super Nanny:
1. Jo insists on clear rules. Teachers love this (duh!). We spend an extraordinary amount of time referencing the rules... Dress code, tardy policy, how to properly head your paper, restroom procedure, citizenship rules, etc. Rules rule!
2. She insists on driving in that special English taxi with her moniker "SPRNANY" on the license plate. Teachers, of course, love this because we all dream of the day that a special car would drive us to work and drop us off right smack-dab in front of the school (bonus points if a bumper sticker that says "SPRTCHR" is affixed to the car).
3. Jo understands how to use the gradual-release model. What I mean is, she is very hands on at the beginning while teaching the parents, then she releases control as time goes on. She even gives a summative assessment at the end with an opportunity to reteach. I mean, c'mon?! She would definitely get "highly effective" on her evaluation.
4. Most importantly, Jo says what she means and means what she says (Dr. Seuss allusion, anyone?). Her examples always apply to what she is teaching and she is selectively tough. She chooses her battles wisely and ALWAYS looks out for the kids first.

It is safe to say that Jo deserves her title of SUPER NANNY. She is the superist of super nannies in the whole entire world.

Thank you Jo for all you do,
Abby and teachers everywhere

Confession

I have a confession to make. It's a little strange to admit, but it's about time that I did it. This confession is way overdue, but I've just invested so much of my time trying to deny "that thing which I am about to confess". What is even crazier is that even strangers know "the forthcoming confession" about me because it's written all over me in large, bolded font. I just haven't said it out loud yet. I know now that admitting it is the first step to finding a resolution, so here goes noting...

Deep breath...

"That thing which I am about to confess" by Abby
I talk about literature characters as if they are real people. While reading a book, I reference the author of that book by his or her first name as if we are best friends (i.e., "Wow! Ray is so cool! He is the most creative person I know!"). I look at billboards, posters, ads, and menus and comment on how excellent (or terrible) the text features are on said billboards, posters, ads, and menus. While reading Facebook status updates, I mentally comment on the excessive amount of passive voice with which people write. I also get overly excited when I hear a vocabulary word used on any CW show (My teacher friends and I have a group text message entirely devoted to this very topic of discussion).  In short, I am an English teacher. My brain is wired not only by nerves and synapses, but by the paper and ink that expresses the beauty of the written word... I just can't help myself.

There it is. My confession. I know it may not seem like much of a confession and is in every way possible an obvious statement, but what I'm trying to say is that I am not just a person that teaches English classes to students. I am an English teacher. Every hour of the day, every day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year (I think you get what I'm doing here). It pervades my every thought, colors my every judgement, and guides my daily decisions (insert your favorite "light as a guide" literature reference here; also I love alliterations).

This blog, which is named after my favorite punctuation mark, is the forum for which I will share glimpses into the quirky mind of a bibliophile like myself. One that makes daily references to literary devices, comments on the effective word choice of her friends (nerd alert!), and edits her Instagram captions several times in order capture the effective mood of each photo.

Do you have any quirky academic-related habits? Do you ever spend an excessive amount of time relating your everyday activities to your career/hobby/area of interest? Sharing is caring, so post your comments below!

PS- My favorite "light as a guide" literature reference obviously has to do with Harry Potter.