I understand what this guy is saying, but I don't know that I agree. What would he do if a person honestly did not know where to put a semicolon, or when to use ' instead of ". I don't know that ignorance should be punished but rather dealt with. If a person doesn't know, show them the correct way. Don't strip them of the opportunity of getting a job.
I think the idea is that a lot of grammatical knowledge comes down to an eye for detail and a desire to appear professional. Think about its vs it's. If you didn't just brute memorize which to use when, you could work it out with a moment's thought. Yes, it's odd that a branch might simultaneously be the tree's branch and its branch, but if you think about it, its fits in with hers and his. On the flip side, if I'm shortening 'it is' then I really do need that apostrophe to designate the contraction. The ability to do that kind of thinking (and the willingness to apply it to things which might appear trifling) is an important job skill generally. I am slightly concerned the author might not include speaking AAVE an extenuating circumstance (which I think is what matdesigner was alluding too when he mentioned racist issues), but I'd rather not damn him for that until I actually see wrongdoing.
Well, with something of that magnitude sure. There's obviously a huge difference between "it's" and "its." I felt like the boss in this scenario was being much more strict than that.
I share your opinion, but I do believe that human resources just doesn't have the time and effort to show everyone the correct way. And to be honest, if you don't know when to use ' instead of ", and your boss is a jerk for 'punishing' you for not knowing... Then you really wouldn't want to work there anyway.
I can't agree with the boss because is there really a correct way? I mean, the 'correct' way is what everyone agrees upon. But it seems that so many people do so many grammtical things differently, there isn't a right or wrong way anymore. Sure, there are those that'll argue that a certain way is right because a certain rule says so, but honestly, who cares? And yes, if a boss were that strict, I would just look for a different job.