I just wanted to forward this very entertaining article on grammar in
the schools today.  Some of the paragraphs are really incisive.

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

The Report Newsmagazine www.report.ca
Guest column:  If we could of went to smarter schools, we wouldn't
of spent so long learning to write proper 01-22-2001
Mariette Ulrich

While writing the mandatory home-schooling plan for my children
this fall, I perused our province's Language Arts curriculum on the
Saskatchewan Education Web site. I wanted to know which
grammatical principles they recommend at each grade level.

Instead of itemized lists, I encountered the "Foundational and
Learning Objectives": hundreds of cyberpages telling teachers how
to teach good writing. Ironically, the document itself suffers a few
deficiencies itself in the style department. Here's just a taste:

"[The student will] enhance writing by using sensory details and
descriptions,...engage the reader by using imaginative language
that evokes visual images...[and] create story mood and
atmosphere through effective description." In other words, teach
students to use adjectives.  "Brevity is the soul of wit," wrote the
Bard, but this is a government document, so there's very little of
either.

The relatively short section on grammar contains warnings like:
"While instruction may be required about some writing skills and
knowledge, it...should not be broken into isolated sub-skills." By
"isolated" they mean pupils learn a concept, write a few practice
sentences that are unrelated to their place in the cosmo, and then
go out for recess.

The goal is to teach language skills "in the context of the students'
own speaking, listening, writing, and reading experiences." This is
done with "mini-lessons" on an "as-needed" basis. Some might
call it a scatter-gun approach. I'm all for context teaching (I do it
myself), but I fail to see how you'll cover all the bases if you don't
use a systematic approach.

The Saskatchewan curriculum seems unsure whether or not
children need basic skills. Consider the following: "Students may
find it useful to be able to name and know the purpose(s) of the
following: period, exclamation mark, comma, semi-colon, colon,
quotation marks, and capitalization." i'd say such study is crucial
not just useful wouldn't you otherwise how would
you know when one sentence ended and another began at least
thats my opinion but then who am i i don't have a phd in education.

Spelling, too, "is a developmental process and competence ...
occurs over time." One school official assured me it's acceptable
for kids to use "invented spelling" for years. But how many? I have
a hunch the owner of Millenuim Carpet Cleaners in Regina is older
than eight. (If he's not, I congratulate him on his budding
entrepreneurial spirit.) Either way, he needs to learn to spell.

While intensive study of grammar and usage has fallen into
disfavour, political correctness is all the rage. One objective of the
curriculum is to "demonstrate respect and sensitivity toward unique
individual, gender, and cultural communication styles and
perspectives," with an emphasis on "accept[ing] others' views in a
nonjudgemental way." Students are to acquire not only knowledge
and skills, but also certain "attitudes." Are we still in English class,
or is this now Social Engineering 101?

Group work is also advocated: "Although writing is a solitary
activity for most writers, the social aspects of collaboration make
writing groups appropriate." Yah, right. Just like everyone would
rush out to buy the latest novel by the Margaret Atwood Quartet.
Collaboration is another way of saying, "the cleverest and hardest-
working students get lumped in with those who can't or won't do
the work, and they all get the same grade."

Apparently, process and attitude take precedence over content. I
was actually told by a school official that the new curriculum is not
"content-based."

I asked my brother (the principal of a private school in Calgary) what
that means. He said schools are moving to "resource-based"
education. In a nutshell: don't teach them grammar; teach them
where to find grammar. The Saskatchewan curriculum suggests:
"Set up a section of the classroom as a writing reference area and
make available language resources such as dictionaries, thesauri,
and grammar and usage texts. Encourage students to use these
as needed."

If grammatical principles are tools for good writing (as the
curriculum acknowledges), how wise is it to send forth graduates
whose cranial toolchests contain at best only a random assortment
of implements; at worst, an overdependence on reference
materials? For too many students (and one is too many) the
"resource centre" of choice is not the campus library, but the illicit
Internet site that sells term papers to go.

Maybe it's only a wild coincidence that kids who aren't taught
grammar can't write. Then again, maybe not, since I was one of
them. I studied grammar only to Grade 6, and laboured under the
"if it sounds right, it might be right" approach in high school. By the
time I entered university, I could barely write a paragraph, and I
wasn't alone. Many of my English professors had to waste lecture
time on remedial grammar after the first papers were handed in.

I graduated with an honours degree in English literature, which is
less a testimony to my competence than a criticism of Canadian
standards. My fledgling efforts at professional writing garnered
some humiliating comments from editors.

Home-schooling came to my rescue; since teaching my own kids,
I've learned more grammar than in 16 years of state-funded
education. Learning grammar is hard work, but I know it pays. I
may get on some blacklist for admitting this, but I'm sticking to my
guns (all legally registered firearms, of course) and teaching my
kids grammar. Systematically. I think they'll thank me someday.
-----------------------------------------------------
Sincerely, Robert Einarsson
please visit me at
www.artsci.gmcc.ab.ca/people/einarssonb

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