To All;
  Let's cut to the chase.  As a middle school teacher of English, I want my students to be able to read and write the language well.  So...

  A Rose is a Rose by any other name.  I do not focus on the labeling of parts of speech, I focus on the usage.  In the end, we all understand what we are accomplishing as my students do improve their usage.

  As for motivating students, we must reach them where they are, not where we want us to be or some miracle standard of knowing technical terms and being able to aruge over the correct placement, term, usage.  My students are eager to learn and to correct their written language mistakes. And, they carry over their lessons to their daily writing.

  If we really and truly want "grammar" brought back into education as a formal thread, then we must take a good look at the focus of education as a whole.  Find out where grammar will fit in and HOW.  Many teachers would be willing to embrace a grammar thread, they know that something is missing.  However, to formalize an whole new terminology would not meet the needs.  Show us simple teacher of the k-12 world how to infuse grammar and not as a corrective tool.

In our own ways, we are threading grammar into the curriculum.  It may not be seen as formal instruction, but it is there.  FInd a way to help us go the next step not come crashing down with a whole new way of doing.

Just simple thoughts from a simple teacher in the no where town of America.


LInda

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