Grammar

Grammar

The Grammar articles really resonated with me. Mostly, because when I tell people that I am an English major, they ALWAYS reply with something to the effect of, "Oh, so you sit around and fix commas and stuff?" I am not sure why English and grammar have come to mean the same thing to people. It is probably because those concrete lessons stick out most to people when they think back on high school and grade school lessons. (Most people HATE grammar lessons, so they aren't easy to forget.) A lot of scholarship I have read of late, has made it clear that grammar exercises really do not help students to learn grammar rules. And, you know, I think that is true. Grammar laws are hard to understand because there are so many exceptions to the rules. (A word that is a noun, can also be an adjective... etc.) Plus, I think it is hard to understand grammar when it is separated from the context of writing, as I think it often is in school. I agree with the author of the first article, in that I think it should be taught always in the attempt to make writing better, not in the attempt to help students pass standerdized tests. (But, that is easier said then done. Teachers often HAVE to teach to the test.)

After reading about transformational gramar, and the other forms of grammar, I understand why teachers often just try to teach the basics, or traditional school grammar. It is simply easier to grade those kind of surface mistakes, than it is to teach students about Noam Chomsky's deep structure. At the same time though, I think Halliday's and Chomsky's views of grammar are better for helping students to understand the relationship between grammar and writing. (Halliday's especially...) Easier is not always better.

I don't know. Somehow, we need to make students realize, or make teachers realize maybe, that language is not stagnate. It is constantly evolving, at least until it is dead like Latin. Sticking to "divine" rules, and priviledging certain dialects, alienates people from the true study of composition. The way teachers teach grammar in High school and grade school, makes students think that the key to good writing is putting all your commas in the right place, and we know that isn't what composition is all about. A grammar free paper with no ideas behind it, is a waste.

Black Article

Black Article

I thought that the Black article was interesting,even thought I thought it was lacking organization. Conferences do present a conundrum in the classroom. How DO you determine if a conference is successful or not? How DO you walk the line between a teacher led and student led conference? I know from my own personal experience, conferences have not been that successful. As a student I always came into the meeting with the thinking that I just had to say what the teacher wanted me to say, and make the changes to my paper that the teacher wanted me to make. I did not bring a whole lot of my own questions, concerns, and wants to the table. It is easy to say that a conference is supposed to be an open dialogue. But, we have to remember that our students will always view us as "the final answer," and have trouble being completely honest with us. (They are concerned in the end with their grades. They don't want to make us too mad!) I think it may be a bit utopian to think that students will ever just converse with us, the way they would converse with a friend. However, I think that we can work to acheive some sort of comfortable discourse with our students. (We don't need to be dictators.)

I have to admit I thought the author of the article was a little cruel in that she lowered her vocabularly with those students who she thought weren't quite as knowledgable in the area she was teaching. I understand that she did this automatically, not intentionally, but I was still shocked about it. Then, I had to think, do I do this to? And if I do, am I denying those students the opportunity to grow as learners? Am I typecasting them as just not as successful as other students?

This is exactly the reason why we as teachers need to be constantly self-evaluating. We often think we are doing things right, but upon closer look we might not be. Teaching is a constant learning process. No class, no student, is ever the same, so we have to be always able to adapt are lessons and approaches.

I hope everyone had a good Halloween!