like/as if

"Like" is one of the most overused words in the English language, and it is almost always used incorrectly. It can be a verb as in, "I don't like you," but it cannot be a conjunction, interjection, or any other incorrect part of speech that you people try to create.

So quit saying, "It looks like the rain is stopping." It's not. The correct usage here should be "as if." What you really mean is, "It looks as if the rain is stopping."

Especially as a high school teacher, I hear this word used ad nauseum. I'm not particularly fond of it, and I become less fond of it each passing day.

So would you do me a favor? Would you stop, like, using it this way? Like, please?