Mike, I'm not sure how secondary & college grammar instruction
differs since I'm very unfamiliar w/ such courses at the secondary
level.  The way I teach the course to English majors is, in some
ways, very traditional: I focus on handbook grammar and even use
the much maligned traditoinal diagraming.  I know where my approach
differs from how I was taught grammar years ago back in jr high
and high school is not so much what type of grammar is taught, but
the level of specificity and questioning that goes on my course.  That is,
we actually work hard to find out when traditional grammar doesn't
work very well, noting a lot of peculiar structures & such.  I think
that I lead my students to question more than memorize grammar, as I
was taught in what little grammar I was taught back in secondary.
 
I don't know how typical my present course or high school experience
is though.  I'd like to hear more about how others teach it at
all levels.  There are a few things more I could say about my present
course in grammar but durn I gotta run to class....
 
larry beason