I think Jeff has brought up a very important question: How do we recruit
elementary school teachers into ATEG? If we are going to achieve our most
often stated goals, we really need to bring up the rear, so to speak (this
isn't a value judgement ... I couldn't find a more accurate metaphor). I
think we also need to bring in K-12 Language Arts coordinators and other
power-brokering administrators in order to get the ball rolling.

Let's brainstorm some ideas.

Paul E. Doniger
The Gilbert School

----- Original Message -----
From: Glauner, Jeff <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 3:44 PM
Subject: Re: A Blow for Grammar


> Maureen,
>
> You're on the right track now.  We need to develop our pedagogical grammar
> using the best parts of contemporary learning theory (including multiple
> intelligences).  That's one reason I want us to try to recruit elementary
> teachers to ATEG.  They study pedagogy.  They can shed light on why
grammar
> teaching doesn't stick.  We know it would be good for every student to
have
> a grasp on the metalanguage of grammar.  Elementary teachers, whose job it
> is to covey this metalanguage to children, might be able to help us find
out
> how to do it.  So how do we recruit them?
>
> Jeff Glauner
> Associate Professor of English
> Park University, Box 1303
> 8700 River Park Drive
> Parkville MO 64152
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.park.edu/jglauner/index.htm
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maureen Fitzpatrick [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 9:28 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: A Blow for Grammar
>
>
> Is there any room in this discussion for the concepts of multiple
> intelligences, or is that something people would rather not get into?
Isn't
> it possible that for students with a strong logical-mathematical
> intelligence, the patterns and form or grammar make a wonderful amount of
> sense? Or that teachers who have an intuitive intelligence for spatial
> relations might teach things like sentence trees more effectively? In
short,
> I don't think it is the subject but the relationship between one teacher's
> take on language and the learning styles of the twenty-five people in the
> class.
>
> It seems like we have spent the better part of two decades recognizing
that
> different people learn and teach differently, but many people still want
to
> rush in to one-size-fits-all education. Of course grammar instruction
won't
> help a lot of students. Of course it will help a lot of students. But what
> would probably help most is teaching matters of style (whether it be
> subject-verb agreement or reducing wordiness) in a variety of ways rather
> than just tossing a book to students and assuming they will absorb the
> information they failed to absorb the first five times it was introduced
to
> them.
>
> The thing about this discussion that interests me is that it really seems
> like preaching to the choir - there isn't going to be a soul on the
Assembly
> for the Teaching of English Grammar list who doesn't think teaching
grammar
> is important. The question facing most of us is how to do it effectively
for
> the largest number of students - particularly those for whom traditional
> instruction has failed so far.
>
> Maureen Fitzpatrick
> Associate Professor, English
> Johnson County Community College
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>
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>

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