It's nice to hear from other people teaching at the college level who
share some of my concerns and difficulties. I think our grammar course
has the go-ahead; perhaps its success, which I anticipate, will raise some
eyebrows. I would love to hear from people teaching at other levels.
 
But Daniel's consolation that people outside the profession often have
more respect for 'grammar' than insiders has a hidden thorn: what they
think of as 'grammar' are the tedious, decontextualized skills-and-drills
lessons that he decries, and that's what they support (or insist on).
this is reflected very clearly in the Language Arts packages that
publishers have sent to the CA state dept. of ed. for adoption in the
public schools. The sections on writing, literature, etc., are very
up-to-date, reflecting research and practice in the teaching of writing
and literature as well as a strong multicultural orientation. But the
grammar sections could have been lifted from any 1950 primer. No sign of
what is known about the insufficiency of the traditional approach to
grammar. I can't figure out what motivated the publishers to do it this
way. I hope that letters I will be sending to them might clear it up.
 
As to fear and loathing, I get very interesting (and to me puzzling)
ranges of reaction when I talk to people about grammar, from elementary
through high-school to college teachers. So far all that I've discovered
is that it is a very emotional issue on all sorts of fronts: from
insecurity about one's own mastery of trad. grammar to a blind
willingness to perpetuate prejudice against nonstandard English to
frustration with students who haven't learned 'grammar' to anger about --
I don't know what! All I know is that the mere mention of the word evokes
all kinds of assumptions and reactions, and I am gingerly navigating the
waters. Any help would be appreciated!
 
As to Emily's hope for motivated, interested students -- better be
prepared for all varieties. That's one of the things that makes these
courses hard to teach. Despite what linguists know about what native
speakers unconsciously know about their native language, it seems next to
impossible to drag that knowledge to consciousness for some students
(perhaps a larger number than one might anticipate).
 
Johanna
 
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Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics              ~
English Department, California Polytechnic State University   ~
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407                                     ~
Tel. (805)-756-2184  E-mail: [log in to unmask]      ~
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