Michael is absolutely right that the combination of teacher enthusiasm for
and secure grasp of the material are priceless commodities for teaching.
There is, however, a big difference between teaching in college and teaching
in secondary or elementary school. A college course has a short class time
(2-3 hours per week) and a clear through line to the end -- 15-16 weeks and
the semester is over -- whereas a high school English class meets, typically
40-50 minutes a day, 5 times a week, for forty weeks (unless on "Block
Scheduling"). Add to these schedule differences the notion that pre-college
students are "captives" who are not paying (or borrowing) money to attend
classes, most of whom would rather be somewhere -- anywhere -- else, and you
have a very different situation.

Entertainment in these classes almost seems necessary sometimes. If we can
add humor, games, etc. to our enthusiasm and secure grasps, we're virtually
required to do so. In our methods classes, we are often told that we need to
use a variety of techniques to teach. Games and humor add very useful tools
to the teacher's toolbox.

Paul E. Doniger

----- Original Message -----
From: Kischner, Michael <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 2:16 PM
Subject: Re: Something is haunting me.


> I teach a college-level grammar class created by my colleague Edith
Wollin.
> It is centered on traditional syntax.  Students use Kellogg-Reed
diagramming
> to analyze syntactical structures and then use sentence combining and
> sentence composing to practice using the structures in their own writing.
>
> Most of the students love the class and recommend it to their friends.
The
> interesting thing is that neither Edith nor I does anything special to
"make
> the class interesting."  Because of the quantity of material, we are
forced
> to keep up a relentless forward movement, and there is no time for
> diversion.  (One student was heard telling another, "This is the one class
I
> absolutely won't miss.  I'll skip a math class occasionally, but this
> grammar class you don't dare miss a dayof!")  We do have students work in
> pairs and groups, but that's about it for variety.     Yet they love the
> class.  Why?  We figure it has something to do with our own enthusiasm for
> the material and our secure grasp of it.  At the end of each class, most
of
> the student know something they did not know when they came in. The class
> builds knowledge incrementally in the best Piaget fashion, and as the
> students' diagrams get more and more intricate, they take more and more
> delight in building them.  I suppose I should also point out the
> all-important fact that the class is an elective.  There is nothing like
> teaching students who have signed on to what is being taught.
>
> Edith and Wollin have written a textbook for instructors who wish to
include
> instruction in grammar and style in a college composition class.  It does
> not use sentence diagramming. It teaches syntactic structures in a compact
> way and then moves quickly to how students can apply knowledge of these
> structures to their own writing.  The book is Writers' Choices: Grammar to
> Improve Style; it is published by Harcourt College Publishers.  People
> wanting to see a sample copy can get one from [log in to unmask]
> > ----------
> > From:         Cheryl Richey
> > Reply To:     Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> > Sent:         Friday, August 31, 2001 9:57 AM
> > To:   [log in to unmask]
> > Subject:      Something is haunting me.
> >
> > A while back a professor wrote to this group asking how he could make a
> > seemingly boring grammar book, the name I will not repeat, more
> > interesting for his uninterested students.  Someone answered back
> > something along the line that it is hard to interest the uninterested.
It
> > is haunting me that I never answered my opinion on the issue.
> >
> > One of the most important things taught during a teaching credential
> > program is that it is the teacher/professor's responsibility to make the
> > material interesting.  I would recommend taking an interactive
approaches
> > class.  Learn different strategies and methods to get the students up,
> > working together, and getting to know each other.  Do you know how many
> > adults watch and enjoy games?  They play on baseball teams, watch Wheel
of
> > Fortune, Jeopardy, they sing in the church choir, etc.  Make it fun!
> > Their interest will follow.
> >
>
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>

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