Newsletter #3 – The Decline and Fall of English Grammar

I'm talking out of school again... Newsletter #3 – The Decline and Fall of English Grammar This is a topic that is safe for parents, but not too many teachers. Here it is: A larger percentage of students than ever before do not know how to write.  I don’t mean they can’t write like Stephen King or Toni Morrison.  I mean they don’t know how to write basic English.  You’ve seen this at least once I’m sure.  Most parents, on parent teacher night, are upset that their sons or daughters are using ‘text language’ when they should be using regular English. School is supposed to not only teach rock solid basic English grammar, but reinforce it over the years.  That doesn’t seem to be happening.  As a matter of fact, even the people at Harper’s Magazine, who just did an article on this, have noticed. From the article: “As far as I can tell, most schools today downplay grammar and punctuation if they teach these subjects at all. (Last year, in Iowa, authorities banished S. Keyron McDermott as a high school substitute teacher for criticizing “second-grade” grammatical errors in students’ prose.) The neglect shows. I resist teaching creative writing if only because, on the few occasions that I’ve done so, the students have proved too creative.” The author goes on to say that his students were ‘creative’ in that they created incredibly new and incorrect ways of writing English. The parents I’ve spoken with since 1996 have all noticed that the school systems have neglected doing the difficult, and sometimes boring, work of teaching grammar.  I’ve resisted this trend throughout the years, but it is getting more difficult each year. It’s one of the reasons I teach some grammar and literacy online – with more classes to come.  They are here: https://thefreelanceteacher.teachable.com/courses