In Mrs. Corlies’s AP Literature and Composition class earlier this week, there was a discussion about how schools phase in and out the teaching of specific topics such as writing in cursive and typing literacy. During this heated discussion, Mrs. Corlies mentioned that the Oxford comma is no longer being taught at many elementary schools. This inflammatory comment caused many members of the class to shout out angrily and voice their concerns about this change in curriculum. I decided to see if other members of the Abington community felt the same way or if Mrs. Corlies’ sphere of influence (as she is unabashedly pro-Oxford comma) caused these visceral reactions.

Below are some individuals’ reactions to the Oxford comma’s slow removal from the elementary school curriculum.

An anonymous twelfth grader responded to this news, “THE OXFORD COMMA IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. IF YOU DON’T USE IT, YOU ARE INCOMPETENT.”

This comment brings to light the implied laziness of not using this comma. While the comma is not grammatically necessary, this student feels that not using the Oxford comma is a red flag. This twelfth grader requested that their response have entirely capital letters which garnered approval from another twelfth grader who overheard the conversation.

Ella Montagano, an accredited English scholar and superb athlete also took the side of the anonymous twelfth grader and stated that “commas save lives”. This reference to the popular poster “Let’s eat, Grandma v.s. Let’s eat Grandma” brings up a concern about grammar and understanding the true meaning of a sentence. For example, when discussing their favorite classes, a student may write “I like math, science, reading, and writing” or “I like math, science, reading and writing”. While both sentences are grammatically correct, it is easy for someone to misinterpret the second sentence and think that reading and writing are the same class. This outsider may think that the individual took a break from writing or made a grammatical error by forgetting to put “and” after science. 

Jeremy Slotter, a sweatshirt enthusiast, shared concern for the Oxford comma’s feelings saying “Don’t discriminate against the Oxford comma, it has value and worth.” He wants the Oxford comma to feel needed and fears that with this new curriculum, the Oxford comma will disappear. 

A couple of individuals like Madden Murray and Charlotte Jamieson expressed using the Oxford comma without a rationale behind it. Madden Murray, one of Abington’s top students, provided a possible explanation for why so many students advocated for the Oxford comma expressing “It’s because everyone is so used to it. Using the Oxford comma is a habit. People might be pro-Oxford comma without [having] reasoning behind it. The Oxford comma is the default.” This ideology could explain the multitude of people in support of the Oxford comma and how despite casting a net far and wide, I could not find anyone to be anti-Oxford comma on the record. 

Are people overreacting? Is the concern for the youth who are being exposed to this propaganda that the Oxford comma is optional, misplaced? Should we just calm down and let people choose their own comma usage (as long as it is grammatically correct)?