Susan,
We can't expect students to see connections between speech and writing
by themselves, especially if the main thing they are told is that
speech is wrong. I have found speech a great place to start. Students
seem to enjoy thinking about it.
I'm not sure what you mean by "sentences that cannot be solved (i.e.
agreed upon)". Typically, these can be handled within the approach of
a particular grammar. There can be competing terminolgy, but I'm not
sure that means a sentence can't be "solved." If we find a new
species, we observe it and give it a name. But perhaps I
misunderstand.
I tend to have a higher regard for the potential of "low level
students" than most people do. The students I work with are not
supposed to do well, but often do exactly that. Once again, our
"Opportunity Program" students have outperformed students coming in
through regular admissions. If you raise expectations, students tend
to respond. I am certainly uncomfortable with the idea that we should
avoid teaching concepts that might be a challenge.
I think grammar can be definitive in the same way biology can--or
perhaps the social sciences. We don't need to feel that a description
has to be perfect for it to be valuable.
Craig
>> It would be nice to have definitions that are easy to understand, but if
>> there are too many exceptions (if they are too simplified) they will
>> cause harm in a different way. That's a tough territory to negotiate.
> It is indeed tough territory to negotiate, which is why Scott asked for
> help. I am 50 years old and can remember doing only a little sentence
> diagraming in public school. At the time, I was pretty sure there were
> sentences that were not presented in the grammar books that could not be
> solved (i.e. agreed upon). I only wished my teachers had admitted as
> much. Grammar was presented as definitive as mathematics. Even though I
> felt betrayed and frustrated by my teachers, my love for language was not
> destroyed. However, I was no doubt an exception as I suspect many of my
> peers went on to help the NCTE remove grammar from the English curriculum.
>
>> Given and new is a very easy concept to teach at my level. I have
>> never had a student fail to pick it up quickly, probably because it
>> is very basic to the way we use language in our everyday lives.
>
> This comment is interesting because the average high school student does
> not distinguish between concepts that work in every day speech and
> conventions required in academic language. It can be frustrating to see
> the bad habits that student writers carry over from everyday language
> (fragments, "well," indefinite "you," and other colloquialisms) and what
> they refuse to carry over (known-new concepts and transition phrases).
> What is picked up quickly and intuitively by the college-bound is the very
> thing that thwarts and confuses the average writer.
>
> Low-level students who aren't exposed to academic speech and writing don't
> know there are important overlaps that are basic skills to human
> communication.
>
> Susan
>
> On Nov 12, 2010, at 7:44 AM, Craig Hancock wrote:
>
>> Susan,
>> I think you and I are in pretty much agreement. It would be nice to
>> have definitions that are easy to understand, but if there are too
>> many exceptions (if they are too simplified) they will cause harm
>> in a different way. That's a tough territory to negotiate.
>> I suggested Martha's book because I know it has been used with some
>> success at the high school level. It may surprise you to know that
>> back in the earlier days when I went to public school, we diagrammed
>> sentences in seventh and eighth grade. I can remember dealing with
>> the complements Martha presents in her book for the basic sentence
>> patterns, and I can remember dealing with infinitives and
>> participles. It was, I think, an attempt to give us a comprehensive
>> overview, and it gave me a foundation that has been amended quite a
>> bit, but nevertheless sustained me well into adulthood. I may have
>> been rare in liking that, but I think there was a sense back in
>> those days that we were ready for it, and in my case at least, that
>> was true. It wasn't watered down.
>> Given and new is a very easy concept to teach at my level. I have
>> never had a student fail to pick it up quickly, probably because it
>> is very basic to the way we use language in our everyday lives.
>> Grammar study fails to carry over to real world reading and writing
>> in part because grammar has been narrowed down to what happens
>> internally within isolated sentences. But sentences don't happen in
>> isolation when we read and write. Grammar is discourse neutral only
>> if you decide to remove discourse from the discussion. It is an
>> artificial decision and a harmful one.
>>
>> Craig
>>
>> On 11/11/2010 10:03 PM, Susan van Druten wrote:
>> > On Nov 11, 2010, at 9:12 AM,
>> Craig Hancock wrote:
>>
>> >> it doesn't make sense to criticize [k-12 teachers'] lack
>> of
>>
>> >> knowledge
>>
>> >
>>
>> > No, it doesn't make sense because we are all at a lack of
>>
>> > knowledge--college instructors as well as K-12. We k-12
>> teachers
>>
>> > need definitions to give to young learners. It would be
>>
>> > anti-intellectual to condemn Scott's group as merely
>> "reaching back"
>>
>> > to what worked for them when they learned grammar instruction
>> if the
>>
>> > only thing you can replace it with is definitions that are
>> beyond the
>>
>> > comprehension of k-12 learners. I was one of those k-12
>> learners in
>>
>> > the 70s. I liked the definitions I got because I could
>> understand
>>
>> > them. But I didn't like them because there were exceptions
>> that I
>>
>> > thought of that drove me crazy and made me think there was
>> something
>>
>> > I was missing. The answer I think is for grammar definitions
>> to be
>>
>> > simple but to indicate to students that there are exceptions.
>> Martha
>>
>> > Kolln is all very well for an adult to read, but she is not
>> helping
>>
>> > us explain things to k-12 students (an exception would be AP
>>
>> > classes--I used to use her stuff when I taught AP Lang).
>> Given-New is
>>
>> > higher level understanding, a concept more sophisticated than
>> you may
>>
>> > realize for some students to understand on a paragraph
>> level--let
>>
>> > alone from one sentence to another.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I appreciate all the responses that this thread has recently
>>
>>
>> > generated.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Susan
>>
>> >
>>
>> >
>>
>> >> . There may, in fact, be plenty of room for blame in our
>> current
>>
>> >> situation. We can look back to the fifties and early
>> sixties as a
>>
>> >> time in which the definitions of traditional grammar were
>> revised
>>
>> >> and reformed by the structuralists. Unfortunately, these
>> did not
>>
>> >> take lasting hold for a few reasons. One is that
>> structural
>>
>> >> linguistics was supplanted by generative grammar as the
>> primary
>>
>> >> focus of linguists. Another is that the efficacy of
>> formal grammar
>>
>> >> was called into question by research studies that seemed
>> to show
>>
>> >> there was little carryover into improved writing.The
>> generativists
>>
>> >> also emphasized that grammar was hardwired into the
>> brain, which
>>
>> >> reinforced the notion that native speakers would pick up
>> the
>>
>> >> grammar of their language naturally, without direct
>> instruction,
>>
>> >> if grammar was understood as the rule based formal system
>> that
>>
>> >> underlies the language. Opposition to the teaching of
>> grammar took
>>
>> >> the form that Geoff was expressing: we shouldn't impose
>> definitions
>>
>> >> that don't define and we shouldn't give workbook
>> exercises in
>>
>> >> correctness (mindless drills). Students will acquire
>> language when
>>
>> >> allowed to use language meaningfully in reading and
>> writing that
>>
>> >> seems to matter to them. This brought about some much
>> needed
>>
>> >> improvements in the curriculum, but pretty much relegated
>> language
>>
>> >> to a minimalist place--for example, mini-lessons to deal
>> with
>>
>> >> errors when the "need" arises. To protect this minimalist
>> approach,
>>
>> >> NCTE has been very reluctant to embrace any kind of
>> "scope and
>>
>> >> sequence" approach, for example any attempt to hold
>> students
>>
>> >> accountable for KNOWING about language, which would bring
>> back a
>>
>> >> more systematic curriculum. In the meantime, functional
>> approaches
>>
>> >> to language (approaches that connect grammar to discourse
>> and to
>>
>> >> semantics/cognition) have been developed, but have
>> not--at least in
>>
>> >> the states--been given pedagogical applications. The big
>> exception
>>
>> >> is systemic functional linguistics, which has had a huge
>> influence
>>
>> >> on teaching outside the states, most notably in
>> Australia. There, a
>>
>> >> focus on genre is a way to connect language study
>> directly to
>>
>> >> discourse concerns. In the meantime, it sure as heck
>> shouldn't
>>
>> >> surprise us that a group at Scott's school hoping to
>> develop a
>>
>> >> thoughtful curriculum for grades five through eight
>> should reach
>>
>> >> back to the grammar they remember from the last time it
>> was
>>
>> >> seriously taught, a pre-reform grammar, with problematic
>>
>> >> definitions. A nice compromise for this might be to look
>> back at
>>
>> >> the structural grammars of the fifties. It comes across
>> as a
>>
>> >> reformed traditional grammar. Martha Kolln's
>> /Understanding English
>>
>> >> Grammar/ draws on those grammars very heavily. It doesn't
>> seem such
>>
>> >> a drastic change from what people are used to. She makes
>> some very
>>
>> >> thoughtful choices about what concepts are most
>> important. I would
>>
>> >> recommend mixing in something of a discourse
>> focus--concepts like
>>
>> >> "given" and "new," for example, which help direct
>> attention to the
>>
>> >> ways in which meaning gets built over extended text.
>> Structural
>>
>> >> grammar has a tendency to treat sentences as isolated
>> units. I
>>
>> >> would also recommend the corpus grammars, including the
>> Longman
>>
>> >> Grammar (Biber et. al.), which looks at patterns of
>> grammar in
>>
>> >> different discourse contexts. If students pay attention
>> to how a
>>
>> >> story works, for example, carrying that attention down to
>> the level
>>
>> >> of the sentence, then grammar is not disconnected from
>> reading and
>>
>> >> writing. I have recently been sent a prepublication draft
>> of an
>>
>> >> article describing a very successful program in England
>> focusing on
>>
>> >> genre. You can't expect grammar to have an influence on
>> reading and
>>
>> >> writing unless you make explicit connections. To me, that
>> means
>>
>> >> making the construction of meaning the central focus. I
>> like the
>>
>> >> idea that linguistics is "art" as well as "science," but
>> to the
>>
>> >> extent that it is a science, it needs to bow down to what
>> it
>>
>> >> studies. The language is under no obligation to match our
>>
>> >> understanding of it. I like "patterns" instead of
>> "rules." a
>>
>> >> definition for "noun" should not supplant an opportunity
>> to explore
>>
>> >> the nature and behavior of real nouns in the wild.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> Craig
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> On 11/10/2010 6:40 PM, Susan van Druten wrote:
>>
>> >>> Brett,
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> Students immediately understand the "you" understood
>> concept.
>>
>> >> Scott's
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> definitions need to be simple. Exceptions can be
>> handled with
>>
>> >> an
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> asterisk. In fact, Scott's header should have an
>> asterisk,
>>
>> >> telling
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> students that grammar is an art and not a science, so
>> these
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> definitions may have some exceptions to the basic
>> rule. I
>>
>> >> think
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> what we need with younger students is a foundation.
>> But we
>>
>> >> should
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> share with them up front that these definitions have
>> a few
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> exceptions.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> I was complimenting you for actually taking the
>> question
>>
>> >> seriously
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> and providing good responses. You did respond as
>> though it
>>
>> >> was
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> beneath you to have to tediously proofread his list.
>> And it's
>>
>> >> true.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> You shouldn't have to do the entire list, but the few
>>
>> >> examples you
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> gave were great. So why not end by saying that you
>> don't have
>>
>> >> time
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> to do more. You personally don't have to feel on the
>> spot to
>>
>> >> give a
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> complete response (or any response at all). This is a
>>
>> >> listserv.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> Others could add on to your efforts. Instead, your
>> last
>>
>> >> sentence
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> may have stopped others from carrying on in the
>> spirit you
>>
>> >> began (my
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> paraphrase of your last sentence: stop bothering us
>> with
>>
>> >> petty
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> concerns and get yourself a good glossary).
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> I love to hear people debate an idea with logic, but
>> it was
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> irritating to read straw man responses assuming the
>> only
>>
>> >> possible
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> purpose of a list must be to force students to
>> memorize
>>
>> >> definitions.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> I can't imagine for a moment that was Scott's
>> intention. I
>>
>> >> was
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> reading this thread with great interest and hoping
>> for good
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> suggestions BECAUSE I do not have any.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> I don't contribute often, but I stay subscribed and
>> read most
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> threads because you all are so smart. Unfortunately,
>>
>> >> sometimes some
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> of you are thin-skinned and ridiculously protective
>> of your
>>
>> >> turf. But
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> you are smart, so I forgive you.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> Susan
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> On Nov 10, 2010, at 6:19 AM, Brett Reynolds wrote:
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>> PS, I'm afraid I must have missed Susan's own
>> suggestions
>>
>> >> about
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>> how to improve the definitions.
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
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>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> select "Join or leave the list"
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >>
>>
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>>
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