This message was originally submitted by Ed Vavra ([log in to unmask]) to the ATEG list -------------------------------------------------------------------- I want to thank Bill Murdick for his statement, [appended below] and also ask permission from him to post it on my web site. The general public does not understand (comprehend) that those of us in the profession have such differences of opinion. Bill does raise a valid point -- in many classes, grammar does take over. Whether that is good or bad depends, I would suggest, on what grammar is being taught, at what level, for what purpose. Those of us in ATEG should know, more than most people, that grammar means a wide variety of things to different people. That is why I suggest that more ATEG members who believe that grammar should be taught should also be more specific about the grammar that they think should be taught. What kinds of lectures, exercises, etc. should be taught in 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. grades? (For example, if Bill were to think about the curriculum I have proposed, many of his reservations might disappear.) In the absence of such specificity, Bill's reservations (from within ATEG) will certainly be shared by many teachers who are not members of our group. Ed V. This message was originally submitted by Bill Murdick ([log in to unmask]) to the ATEG list at MIAMIU.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU. As an ATEG member, I wish to put it on record that I oppose any "program of instruction" on sentences in the schools because I believe that such programs take too much time away from the reading, writing, and discussion of texts. Like Frank Smith, I believe that students learn sophisticated sentence writing and sentence grammar mainly from reading, and somewhat from writing; they learn almost nothing from lectures, regardless of how good the lectures are. I am not against mini-lessions nor am I against individual instruction on problems or opportunities on the sentence level, but programs of instruction tend to take over the whole course. I make this statement just to establish the multiplicity of views within this organization. --Bill Murdick