Good ol' Mr. Hedley in 7th Grade English class refused to let any of us use the following words the entire year: am, is, are, was, were, be, been. Any paper tu

Good ol' Mr. Hedley in 7th Grade English class refused to let any of us use the following words the entire year: am, is, are, was, were, be, been. Any paper turned in that contained one of those had to be re-written. My English, and clarity of thought, improved more that year than during any other equivalent span in my life.