The English teacher I know TRY to get grammar through the kids' heads, but they don't think it is important. Most don't see themselves needing to write in formal register instead of informal register as they get older. In other words, they see themselves needing to write well about as much as they see themselves needing algebra 2 and calculus, not at all.
They only know how to write like they talk, hence my beef with using 'cause' instead of 'because'. We did allow this if it was in dialogue, but we had them write that way very rarely.
Oh, and Strunck and White's Elements of Style is more for publishing such as newspapers and magazines, if I remember my college classes correctly. I lost my copy years ago, and haven't looked at one in longer than that.
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