This message was originally submitted by [log in to unmask] to the ATEG This is in response to what Martha wrote. (It is down below.) I am, as I have been for ages, really upset. There has again been a string of messages on NCTE-Talk related to grammar, many repeating the old anti-grammar stuff. I tried to reply, but from what I can tell, my replies have not made it to the list. (Are they being blocked?) I have also posted my 35-page summary of NCTE on Grammar (1982-85) on my web pages (www.sunlink.net/rpp). I did this in response to discussion of the research on NCTE-Talk. NCTE probably won't like my posting it, but NCTE isn't doing much to change the situation with grammar. I also continue to be frustrated by the lack of growth of ATEG. We should have more members, and we should all be speaking up. There is, however, not much more that I can do to increase the size of the group. I'm coming to the conclusion that, because I have my own ideas about what should be taught, and because I have started a small company to sell some stuff related to it, that perhaps I should focus my efforts there. I'm thinking of developing a "Parents' Section" on my Rose Parisella web site. In that section, I will explain what I think should be taught and why. I'm also thinking of running ads in newspapers, etc., across the country. The ads would be small and read something such as: Parents! What are your children being taught about grammar? http://www.sunlink.net/rpp or send $2 to Rose Parisella Productions. In effect, I'm wondering if I can end-run NCTE. As some of you know, I have put the free Directions for the Quick version of the KISS grammar game on that site. I'll also be putting a web version of my psycholinguistic model of how the brain processes language there. And, I'll be adding a lot of free instructional material. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone on this list has any reactions/suggestions/objections to these ideas. As Martha says, "We have a long way to go." Personally, I feel I should be moving faster and further than I am. Hence the possible new direction. Thanks for listening and for your comments, Ed V. ----------------------------------------- Martha wrote: Amen, Johanna. Thanks. That's a terrific sermon. But how do we get the congregation to listen and heed? The powers that be are really afraid that any return to the notion of teaching grammar will end up with the work sheets and fill-in-the-blanks of yesteryear. Here, for example, is this year's report from NCTE's Commission on Language--the four issues that they identified and discussed at their November 1996 meeting. (This is part of a publication that just arrived: "NCTE Annual Reports, 1997.") The Commission's issues are listed as four "concerns": 1. Concern: recent legal mandates regarding teaching methodology. We urge support for teachers' professional autonomy in the face of intrusive legal mandates. 2. Concern: increasing pressure on teachers to exclude controversial issues from classroom debate. We urge inclusion of controversial issues in oral and written discourse. (And here is #3!) 3. Concern: current calls for more grammar in classrooms. We urge richer language study in classrooms--going beyond grammar to also include study of language variation, critical reading, power, and equity issues. 4. Undermining of students' right to their own languages. We urge that students have the freedom to think about, read, speak, write, and listen to voices from a variety of sources, including their own languages and cultural perspectives. (End of quote) This meeting took place at last year's NCTE--the same month that the grammar issue of English Journal was published. I think that #3 shows that ATEG has made inroads into their thinking--and that they are worried that the bad old formal grammar class is coming back. And that bad old prescriptive grammar means that there's only one acceptable standard--and that the other "languages" (see #4) will not be tolerated. The Commission's report begins with this sentence: "The commission's continuing commitment to language for social justice runs through the work we have completed this past year, and the work currently underway, including"--(and here the four concerns are listed). At the end of the report, after listing the four concerns, there's a list of three convention sessions, which they sponsored last year, and three for this year--all six of which have to do with social issues, including two on "English Only." These lists are followed by another: Writing projects in progress (NCTE). There are four--more of the same--nothing connected to language structure or linguistics. Please note carefully: These "concerns" are the threats to the status quo--threats to be dealt with. They see these four issues (including "more grammar instruction in classrooms") as threats to social justice. We have a long way to go. Martha Kolln