Pedantry

The English teachers at school were stereotypically exact, ready to highlight in red hollow phrases.

"I must admit", "to be honest", "not going to lie" is what I am mentally red lining whenever I hear them. I pounce on these phrases to point out the inconsistency in the sentence.

Today I remembered another instance of a teacher's pedantry: It was always "kilo" clearly pronounced followed by "meter". I never got that one right.

And I wonder: Did the pedantry help or hinder?