We had quite the discussion this week in English 326. Of course it was about grammar, but what made it interesting was the idea of not teaching grammar, instead teach writing first. Although this idea does work on paper, it would be interesting to see it in a major educational system. I also am partial to the way I was taught because I feel it has worked pretty well so far. When I write I think about grammar very little, and I usually allow the punctuation come to me. But, I do know that several times I can be incorrect when I do punctuate, but I rely on Microsoft Word and my decent punctuating skills to get me through my papers.
Another reason one might argue that their punctuation is correct is because we see a trend of poor punctuation everywhere. While texting or on facebook, twitter, and myspace, poor punctuating and grammar is looked at as ok, and even cool sometimes.
But it’s not just social networking or texting that we see poor grammar, it’s also in articles and stories that we read everyday. This proves that many of the rules that we see being broken are no necessarily rules, but rather guidelines. Many professional writers chose to break these guidelines to make their writing more enjoyable to read and I like it. Also, I rarely feel that I notice these rules being broken to the point where it takes away my enjoyment to what I am reading. But, I can understand that students would have trouble learning the correct rules because the writing they see does not typically follow theses rules.
Do you think that the idea of not teaching punctuation till later can be translated into secondary education?
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oh, no, we do need to teach punctuation at all levels. HOW we teach it is the issue. This course advocates teaching it within the context of real, authentic texts... so you can see how punctuation affects meaning--and affects effect.
ReplyDeleteI tried posting this last night, and could've sworn that it published. Checking back now it appears that it didn't take the first time, so here is my response, albeit a bit belated.
ReplyDeleteMike,
While I personally feel as though teaching writing should be the main focus of secondary education, I worry that the younger generation may not be getting sufficient exposure to correct grammar and punctuation, and as a result may not be learning those aspects of writing as well as we did in our schooling. I fear that overexposure to a general lack of concern towards correct grammar and punctuation through mediums such as texting and social networking plays a large part in shaping students' mindsets and the hypotheses they form regarding the rules of grammar and punctuation. So because of this concern of mine I fear getting to spend less time on teaching writing in terms of content due to having to re-educate my students on simple rules regarding grammar and punctuation that they should have down by the time they reach high school. To answer your question more directly, I think it is an ongoing process of learning that must be started young, and that as secondary ed teachers, we may have to teach more grammar and punctuation than we were taught in high school to make up for our students' lack of exposure to the proper use of grammar and punctuation.
-David