Grammar Meets the Real World!

As part of our ElevatEd Guest Lecture Program, we were honored to welcome Mr. Pugh, who spoke to our 7th and 8th grade students about a real-world example of why grammar matters.

He shared the fascinating case of how the absence of an Oxford comma cost a Maine company $5 million, reminding students that every word and every piece of punctuation matters. His talk brilliantly tied together Law, Logic, English, and Latin—a living example of the integrated, interdisciplinary learning at the heart of our Catholic classical vision.

Our students engaged at a high level, analyzing legal phrasing, applying grammatical knowledge, and forming well-reasoned arguments. Concepts like parallel structure, gerunds, and syntax came alive. In the classical tradition, syntax is more than grammar—it is the framework by which thought is ordered, truth is communicated, and ideas are expressed clearly and beautifully.

This was truly an ElevatEd experience, showing students how the skills they cultivate in the classroom have real and lasting impact beyond it.

Thank you, Mr. Pugh, for inspiring our students to think critically, argue precisely, and appreciate the power of language!