Well, I never heard anything about "passive" vs "active" voice, either, and I'm as American as they come. I went all the way through junior high (what they call middle school, now) in California back when the school system out here was still a decent school system, and to high school in the Panama Canal Zone. The American schools there were tougher than the ones in the States. Never ran into it in college, either. The first time I encountered the whole idea was, like Labrat, when Word started to complain every time I used passive voice. Interestingly enough, I do pretty much the same as she does -- I look it over and decide whether I like it better their way or mine and if Word doesn't like my choice, too bad.
Nan
