Rebecca,

You mention the advent of nationwide grammar/language arts standards.  Are
you referring to the 3S project?  If not, to what?

Thanks in advance--
Connie Weaver

"Rebecca S. Wheeler" wrote:

> Dear ATEG,
> I regret very much Ed's resignation as webmaster of the ATEG website, as
> Ed is and has long long been a core member of this organization. Indeed,
> he is the founder of Syntax in the Schools, a publication which he
> initiated, maintained and ran for a decade and a half (that is 15
> YEARS!!!!!). The  dedication, perseverance and vision that Ed has
> consistently offered ATEG and SIS is astonishing. And Ed has been there
> with that energy and vision all along.
>
> I write in response to  Ed's comments about changes in the direction of
> ATEG, and specifically, about changes in the nature of Syntax in the
> Schools, our ATEG publication. For many years, Ed has run SIS as a
> newsletter. The editorial policy was that all articles were accepted and
> printed as is, without editing. This provided an important vehicle for
> communicating insights and approaches to grammar in the schools.  At the
> same time, active ATEG membership and SIS subscriptions have remained
> relatively constant, hovering around the 125 person level or so, I
> believe.
>
> The times are a changing. With the advent of nationwide grammar/language
> arts standards, issues pertinent to Syntax in the Schools are coming
> increasingly to the fore. It has seemed to a number of us that ATEG
> could provide a much broader national and international resource
> regarding the teaching of grammar. To that end, as new Editor, of SIS, I
> have advertised our publication on all the NCTE listserves, in the
> English Journal, and on LINGUIST net. I am seeking to promote both a
> broader readership and writership for SIS.
>
> There is a lot of work out there happening in the arena of Grammar in
> the Schools. For example, the Linguistics Association of Great Britain
> (LAGB) has just announced an upcoming conference on GRAMMAR TEACHING AND
> THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING SKILLS University of Durham, UK. I've
> contacted them, inquiring whether they would consider submitting their
> work to SIS. Similarly, in the recent issues of SIS, we've seen work
> from a Charter School in Arizona looking at how grammar fits into the
> implementation of language arts standards, work from a 7th grade grammar
> curriculum, further notes from the British front, etc.
>
> Far from being any sort of Profscam (tho I have not read the treatise Ed
> mentions), Syntax in the Schools seeks to publish thoughtful work
> regarding grammar in the schools. We have moved into a refereed status
> so to assure the caliber of commentary and contribution.
>
> The membership at ATEG voted unanimously to change the classification
> of SIS from newsletter to journal in recognition of the nature of the
> articles submitted. Numerous people pointed out that the material that
> we publish is more of the sort found in journals than the sort found in
> newsletters, the latter being a place for announcements of events and
> such, and the former being a place for more thoughtful discussion of
> issues and practices in the field.
>
> Ed is certainly right that we are currently small -- 16 pages at this
> point. But we are in a growth cycle. Our intention is to develop a
> broader forum for publication of materials relevant to grammar pedagogy
> K - 16. Our emphasis, continuing Ed's guiding light, will be that of
> practical articles of direct import to the school classroom. We are not
> a theory journal. We are a publication seeking practical, thoughtful
> examination of practices and purposes in the teaching of grammar in the
> schools.
>
> To that end, let us grow that we may bring this significant discussion
> to a wider audience, with wider effect on language in the school
> classroom.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rebecca Wheeler
>
> >
>
> *******************************************
> Rebecca S. Wheeler, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of English
> Christopher Newport University
> 1 University Place
> Newport News, VA 23606-2998
>
> Editor, Syntax in the Schools
> The Journal of the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG),
> an
> assembly of the NCTE
> http://www2.pct.edu/courses/evavra/ATEG/SiS.htm
>
> phone: (757) 594-8891;  fax: (757) 594-8870
> email: [log in to unmask]
>
> *******************************************