I have encountered secondary school English teachers at conferences who
considered grammar as a worthless hold-over from the days of grammar school.
I was arguing the point and describing my personal experience as a freshman
college student in Freshman English in a writing-based curriculum that
stressed recognition and avoidance of grammatical errors (1st quarter),
usage errors (2nd quarter), and rhetoric/description/argument (3rd quarter).
A careful listener in the group, who had been taking notes while I was then
identified himself as an assistant professor who had been desperately
seeking such a curriculum for his university freshman program.  Upon
learning what school I had attended, his face sank and he responded, "That's
where I teach now."  Apparently the standards at the school had dropped in
the decade since I attended in the'50's. 

If teachers do not learn grammar in school, how can we expect them to teach
grammar.  Florida required a course in advanced grammar for its English
teachers.  I just reviewed the synopsis of a History of English course that
quickly ran through the history of English and its grammar so that the
students could spend the second half of the course on the equality of their
dialects and on the English spoken in the rest of the world.  A note to the
course assured students that the course met the FL requirement for advanced
grammar.  Imagine the fun that these students will have if their school is
so backward and normative as to require them to teach grammar.
Scott Catledge (I never met a sentence that I could not diagram).    


Date:    Fri, 7 Sep 2007 19:03:44 EDT
From:    Bev Sims <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Silly, rewarding grammar period

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Gretchen,
    How delightful to read your e-mail. You, obviously,  have made learning 
parts of speech fun. That's terrific! I think you have a book  in you 
here--many need to learn from what you are doing.  I have found that  my
students almost crave learning about parts of speech and other
"grammar-type" things. I'm wondering if it is partly due to teachers before
steering away from such teaching, and the kids know they are missing out of
something. I don't know, but I DO know I like your enthusiasm and theirs.
Keep  up the good work. Teddy 

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