I believe there's a lot of people out there who are confused as to the proper usage.

And I have a theory as to why. I have noticed that "and I" where it should be "and me" is a particularly American thing (I'm British).

I think that kids in school used to (and often still do) used phrases like "Johnny and me went to the football game."

They are told that it's not "Johnny and me", but "Johnny and I" without being told that that applies only in that particular context, where Johnny and the speaker are the subject of the verb.

So, the child learns "Not Johnny and me but Johnny and I" so applies it to all instances where Johnny and the speaker are referenced together.

This kind of 'correction' is known as hypercorrection, where a rule used to correct a grammatical construct is used in an inappropriate context, to correct al already correct construct.

My children (when I have some) will not only be taught the correct usage, but given an easy way to remember: Cut out Johnny.

Is it "Me went to the football game" or "I went to the football game"?

Is it "The car picked I up" or "the car picked me up"?

Once you've (easily) determined the correct version, just put Johnny back in.

FoolSwing