You should have among the handouts to use with English Ed classes an essay
called "A Lesson about teaching English" that was printed in the Toronto
Globe and Mail (Feb. 25, 1993). The essay is addressed to Andrew Nikiforuk
and Robert D. Katz, two critics of Canadian education.

After an introduction that includes much sensible and workable advice on
teaching grammmar and composition, the author, Brian Kellow, ruins his
whole message by launching into the following description of how he teaches
revision:


Then my students write a first draft, at home, usually of at least 500
words. The next day they bring in their drafts and we work on them.

"We work on them" This sounds so simple, doesn't it? This actually means
that in groups of four and also with me working with each student, one on
one, we apply what one of my student has called "Kellow's Sacred Rules of
Writing," which I did not devise, but borrowed from, among others, George
Orwell.

Rule One: Never use the passive voice. Again, this sounds so simple.
However, it usually takes several lessons to teach my students the
difference between the passive and active voices. Furthermore, it requires
me to teach and them to learn how to re-structure sentences from passive to
active.

Rules Two: Never use any version of the verb "to be." Just try it, Andrew
and Robert, and you will scurry to your thesauruses looking for verbs,
active verbs.

Rule Three: Mr. Kellow will inform you of any grammatical, syntactical
matters you need to know as you proceed.

Rule Four: The final draft (students usually complete at least five) must
be free of all errors in spelling, graqmmar, punctuation, syntax, sentence
structure, usage, mechanics, etc.


I gave my students both Kellow's essay and the first paragraph of George
Orwell's "Politics and the English Language, which uses three "to be" verbs
and one passive.

Among the many ironies is that the newspaper would print the essay without
comment, as if no one there has any knowledge about either grammar or the
teaching of punctuation.

If anyone would like to have a copy of the essay, send me a message off
list and I'll mail you one.

Bill


William J. McCleary
3247 Bronson Hill Road
Livonia, NY 14487
716-346-6859