Writing Pet Peeves: "Would of, Could of, Should of"

"Would of, Could of, Should of"

This latest offense was seen, not for the first time, on facebook. 

I suppose I should've been happy that the offender chose to express himself, but if one is going to use poor grammar, then one should not write at all for public consumption.  Ah, vanity. 

The problem with contractions is they're spoken more than they're written.  I have an aversion to using many contractions when I write because I had it drummed into me in English Composition class that words shouldn't be contracted in writing unless used in dialog.  This makes it more difficult to learn from reading in context, as many writers shunned the use of contractions in formal writing.  That was back in the day.

Just ask the members of my writers' group.  I dislike contractions in their writing too. 

I see more contractions in the prose of contemporary works. 

However, I suspect that the sum total of the offending writer's reading experience is found in pop culture.  People are beginning to write the way they speak.  Twitter and texting are  wreaking havoc (!) with spelling and grammar.

I learned about contractions when I was in what used to be called "grammar school"  I know I'm dating myself, but again I ask, what are they teaching in English class these days?

Karen's unofficial grammar class for today, for those who care:

Contractions really are for speaking.  They're there to make two words easier to pronounce when used together.

Would have  = would've
Could have = could've
Should have = should've

I suppose I should've taken it in stride.  I could've overlooked it.  But that would've gone against my grain. 

Those last three sentences go against my grain too.  In fact, it almost killed me to write this piece.  **sigh**