I have been reading much good thinking on the listserv about teaching
grammar.  There are many effective ways to do what needs to be done about
grammar in the classroom.  I think I was the guy who Johanna referred to as
encouraging us to teach grammar to babies.

We do, of course.  It happens, and we can't stop it.  Even NCTE can't stop
it.  The best time to learn language is early childhood and prepubescence.
The metalanguage of language study is  part of language and is drunk up
thirstily by small children when it applies clearly to the language they
use.  Five-year olds who cannot write can sing the entire alphabet and
usually know, by the end of the year, the first letter of the first name of
every classmate. At this point, each letter is simply a word that names a
recognizable symbol.  Few beginning kindergartners have strong concepts of
phonics.  But by the end of second grade, they will have.  In kindergarten,
these are useful words, and they learn them.

Every kindergartner uses sentences regularly that contain subjects and
predicates.  Is there any reason to deny such thirsty minds useful words to
refer to these constituents?  The use of these words by their teachers in
appropriate contexts prepares the children for what they can do during first
grade when they learn to write and can be shown in their own writing that
many of their sentences have subjects and predicates, and that it is a good
thing to be able to recognize such constituents. Teaching time used?  hardly
any.  Learning accomplished?  A little.  At least two useful words.  Words
that are applied broadly at first, more analytically later.  By sixth grade,
they will be learning that some of their predicates contain not only direct
objects but object complements, perhaps even infinitives.

Words, words, more words.  They are a major differentiating factor between
us and the beasts of the field.  Let us get elementary teachers and even
early childhood educators into this discussion.

Jeff Glauner
Park University