About the title, "Forming a Straight Circle"

I've heard this joke many times: "My teacher wanted us to form a circle and she said 'Form a circle! And make it straight!'" I don't know if this ever happened but it's a good starting point for this blog. The teacher in the joke, if he/she ever existed, obviously wanted an organized-looking circle but was not able to express him/herself properly. Since this is a blog which teaches English, I thought this joke would be the best place to start. There are, indeed, many confusing circles in the language and understanding them is the first step to straightening them out (at least in our minds). My subtitle, "Teaching Practical English Skills Online," more directly states my purpose.