English Grammar and Composition

I liked high school, although we probably didn't get that great of an education in our small Colorado town. But it was good enough, and a few of us went on to college. I left home and moved to California before I even graduated from high school, which was heartbreaking at the time, feeling like a drop-out.  But it was also motivating,  because I wanted to prove people wrong and eventually I cobbled together a decent education in California public schools and colleges.

Some of us are the lucky product of a education system that no longer exists.  Community college was free (just buy your books) and my tuition at San Diego State University was almost free in the 1970's. California had the best public schools in the country, and the state college system was accessible to everyone who wanted to go.  Without that, there's no way I could have earned a fairly useless but wonderful degree (English literature!) and eventually go on to the UW library school.  There are deserving young people in California who won't have my opportunity.

Getting back to high school and my favorite class- English, of course.   A few years ago I found this 1958 grammar text in a used bookstore and snatched it up.  I knew it immediately! I absolutely loved it! The very book we used in Mrs. White's 11th grade English class. Just do an Internet search for Warriner's Grammar and read the comments-- you'll see how this text made an impression on everyone who used it.  Stephen King wrote a book on the craft of writing, and he said this is the very book he used in public school.

It has a good index and handy if you have questions about grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.  It's fairly advanced, and unsurpassed with sentence diagramming (do they still do that in school?) It also has a whole section on "Speaking and Listening" covering the business interview, debating and group discussion:

In a democracy, discussion is an important part of problem-solving. Some questions are so complicated that no one man is wise enough to settle them. The pooled judgement and experience of many people are needed. School groups, labor unions, clubs and organizations of every kind hold meetings so that all members can have a voice in discussions affecting their welfare. If you are to participate in making wise decisions, you must know the purposes and techniques of group discussion.  The purpose of this chapter is to teach you how to discuss intelligently and effectively...
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 How about that? Learning to speak in public and give others your undivided attention. Maybe it wasn't such a bad education after all. The one book in my library I'll never part with.