Jan & Paul & Others,

    I definitely believe that the teaching of grammar can be harmful. As it is usually taught, it consists of isolated, often incomprehensible definitions and "rules" for avoiding errors. Students hate it; teachers hate it * and thus it is harmful.

Paul asked, "How do we teach function without teaching terminology?" We can't. We need terminology, but the terminology that we need is much more basic than what is taught in most grammar textbooks. We also need to make that terminology almost automatic for our students. In order to do that, we need to teach students how to recognize subjects, finite verbs, clauses (or whatever other constructions) in whatever the students read or write. That cannot be done in a year, and it will require a fundamental shift in the way we look at teaching grammar. At the first ATEG conference, speaker after speaker rose to explain how they taught the parts of speech * the speakers ranged, if I remember correctly, from middle school teachers to college instructors. Obviously, something was not (and still is not)  working.

     Note again that this group cannot even agree that, for example, seventh graders should be able to identify the subjects and finite verbs in typical writing of seventh graders. Without some basic agreement, no teacher can even attempt to build on what students are expected to know when they enter a classroom.

Ed

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