I have a jaded past when it comes to grammar. I never liked it and never will unless something changes. For the most part, this is because of my superb teachers who would treat grammar like Auschwitz. The wonderful Wall Of Shame in my 9th grade English class was the definition of scare tactics. Like a preacher pounding his fist on the pulpit, threatening eternal damnation with brimstone and fire; my teacher warned us against sounding like uneducated Okies. Anytime a student in the class would use incorrect grammar they would have to go to the wall and write the sentence as they had used it incorrectly and then sign their name next to it. This soon turned into a joke for me, misusing grammar left and right just so I could write my name on the wall, but my teacher soon caught on and ignored me, not letting me write on the Wall Of Shame anymore.
Grammar has always been a set of snobbish rules to me, having people correct me when I say something wrong has always been a pet peeve (maybe because of the "Wall"). It seems that when I have an encounter with grammar outside of the classroom, it is just a pretentious person trying to make others feel dumb. Keeping this in mind, even when people use incorrect grammar, I can understand them. I don't feel there is any need for people to harp on grammar unless it interferes with the communication. So here is my pedagogical approach to grammar as of now - I will stress the need for writing over grammar. If grammar becomes and issue for a student I will help them correct the problem. I want to stay away from addressing grammatical problems to the class as a whole, when at all possible; I would rather work one-on-one with a student and keep the grammar within the context of their personal problem.
Now that you know my feelings about grammar, I invite you to participate in my own little Wall Of Shame. Feel free to come make a post that shows any incorrect grammar. You might even want to start by dissecting my horrible display in this post. Or, if you would like, share some times when grammar really does make a difference and the meaning of a sentence is lost within the errors.
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4 comments:
Grammar as a personal problem...certainly a new one on me.
While I agree that grammar is a pain in the butt, I can't find a valid argument for ignoring it altogether.
Do you think the negative experience of the Wall of Shame was the most significant event in your 'grammography?'
Lol, you missed it! In class I talked about Kevin's absolute love of my use of dangling modifiers.
I share your disdain for those who built the Wall of Shame and attempted to nail their shame students to it. Like you, I would not care one whit about impressing those pedants.
I, too, get annoyed by those who correct my grammar. On the other hand, I don't want my language use to close doors I would like to have open. Whether I choose to walk through those doors or not, I would like to know where the handle is. In short, as much as possible, I want to be conscious of the grammar choices I am making and how they might affect the ears (and eyes) of my audience.
You got good voice, man. I feel ya.
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