Marcy Nicholas has sure got a lot of it right:

> I was one of those students who entered grad school, 18 years ago, with
intuitive knowledge about grammar and punctuation but without real
knowledge. However, I soon realized that I needed to educate myself, and
quickly, about the logic of grammar and the reasons for punctuation. (And
this makes me wonder how many graduate programs in English--not comp and
rhet-- require a linguistics course. Mine sure didn't.) >

My graduate English program did have a required linguistics course (thank
God!), and a good one, but I too had to teach myself grammar in order to
survive. Even after 12 years of education in New York City's public schools
and a Bachelors Degree in the Humanities, I didn't know much more than 8
parts of speech and basic punctuation (forget the many rules for using
commas). Fortunately for me, I learned quickly and well because I found the
subject fascinating -- most people would probably find it boring (I'll never
really understand why, but it is true!).

> About half the students pointed to 7th to 9th grade as the turning point
for them, regarding learning, but writing and reading especially. Before 7th
grade, learning, writing, reading, creating were fun; after 7th grade,
boring, prescriptive. Perhaps, they only say this because, of course, middle
and high school are simply more academically challenging than grade school,
and they were not able to cope. >

I see this as more proof that elementary school does not properly prepare
students to discuss language clearly or intelligently. It seems to me that
the situation would improve if foreign language were introduced in the early
grades and if regular elementary teachers were better trained to teach
grammar.

> In order to have any power over their writing and their punctuation,
grammar must be taught. Yet, here's the problem: time. ... How do you cover
expositon, argument, research, documentation, grammar, punctuation in 15
weeks to students who just come out of high school ... ?  >

I don't think it is possible under the present circumstances.

> But at the college level, some instructors teach 3 or more sections of
writing a semester. At the high school level, English teachers may teach 5
or more classes with more than two preparations. With schedules such as
these, what can we expect first-year college students to know about grammar
and punctuation? >

Actually, I don't know any high school English teachers with only two
preparations! I have three this year and may have four next year! It's a
juggling act -- so much material to "cover" and only so much time to cover
it (don't be fooled into thinking a secondary school year is a long period
of time -- each marking period is a race to get everything in on time). And
in high school, the paper load is huge! Thankfully, for me, I teach theatre
classes in addition to traditional English classes; acting and play
production do not require much paperwork (I still need to prepare carefully,
however).  Most of my colleagues envy me those "free" hours! And few of them
teach grammar except in responding to individual student papers.

Is there a solution? I think there is, but only if large groups of school
systems implement sequential, systematic language programs from K-12, and
across the curriculum! Maybe it sounds like pie in the sky, maybe it's just
possible. Any thoughts?

Paul E. Doniger
The Gilbert School