I am (I hope) one of those teachers who is open to a new way to teach
grammar.  Do you have suggestions about books I could read about these
new, better ways?
Jan


On Fri, 3 Feb 2006, Craig Hancock wrote:

> Phil,
>    I think it would be wonderful to take on NCTE directly.  I also think
> we shouldn't allow them to frame the debate.  So much energy has been
> expended trying to argue FOR grammar and not enough just going ahead
> and doing it.  We can go ahead and create a sensible set of
> recomendations. As it stands now, those who agree with us have nowhere
> to turn for sensible approaches to grammar and sensible statements
> about its value.
>    What you seem to be saying, and I would hardily agree, is that there is
> serious evidence that IGNORANCE about grammar is deeply harmful.  The
> real target audience may not be NCTE, but fellow teachers, many of whom
> are reluctant to go back to older practices and unaware of
> alternatives.  We have to be careful.  Mulroy, much as I like his book,
> seems unaware of newer possibilities.  Composition teachers (my field)
> will resist anything that sounds to them like concentrating more on
> error than on real writing. They are also unhappy with the new focus on
> standardized tests. We should try to frame our suggestions in ways that
> work in harmony with the goals of progressive educators.  That's a
> quick summary of a complex issue.  When you advocate "grammar"
> instruction, most people think they know what you mean, and they may
> have good reasons for not liking that.
>     Grammar was first reinstituted in England by the conservatives
> (Thatcher) over the objections of linguists, some of who had been
> working on some remarkable curriculums. (Halliday retreated to
> Australia, where he has been allowed great influence.) Over a few
> decades, though, official British recomendations and curriculums have
> become more and more thoughtful.  In Australia, the mediating focus
> has been on genre, on the forms that have evolved to carry out the
> work of writing.
>     I don't worry too much about offending NCTE.  We should just have a
> more thoughtful OFFICIAL position of our own.  We should also be
> careful to win over thoughtful teachers who may be open to new ways of
> understanding grammar, which are now readily available.
>     I don't think I'm advocating a wimpy position, but I would like to
> take the politics out of it, build a better mousetrap, and then let
> other people react to us.
> 
> Craig
> 
> 

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