Colleagues,
It is a sad fact in our profession that the one thing most school districts
demand from new English teachers is the one thing they have not been trained
to do: teach grammar.  "Teaching grammar in the context of writing" has
become an easy excuse for not teaching grammar at all.  It is one thing to
"remind" students of what they have been taught. It is quite another to be
the one who does the initial teaching. I think a separate grammar methods
course should be mandatory for every English education major.
Renee Moore
Cleveland, MS