What it Means to Teach Grammar

Throughout this weeks blog post, I will be attempting to use the semicolon and dash correctly. I choose to test these out because I want to start incorporating them into my writing for other classes.

Both Grammar Alive! and Christensen talk about the concept of Standard English being thought of as the correct way to use English; Both explain that the concept of Standard English being correct is wrong [two closely connected sentences joined by a semicolon]. There is this belief out there that if a person does not speak or write in Standard English, they are from a lower class and are not as smart as those who do use Standard English. Teachers who believe this are contributing to the cultural deficit model; people from different cultures are believed to be not as smart as those from cultures that speak and write Standard English [two closely connected sentences joined by a semicolon]. Grammar Alive! discusses that there is no right or wrong English. Throughout chapter one and two, one of the main points was that language varies across time, situation, and people. As a teacher, it is important to understand this concept. People come from different cultural backgrounds and have different ways of communicating; their home speak can be very different from Standard English [two closely connected sentences joined by a semicolon]. Christensen states, "When more attention is paid to the way something is written or said than to what is said, students' words and thoughts become devalued." It is important when teaching grammar to focus on what is being said and understand that how they say it may be from their home speak or cultural language-which is not wrong [emphasize a point using a dash].

A teacher may want to use code-switching as a tool in the classroom for students to learn the difference between Standard English and other ways of speaking, like home speak. Code-switching is when a person speaks or writes in more than one way; for example a person could be speaking Standard English and then code-switch to African American language [two closely connected sentences joined by a semicolon]. Students could take turns being the one to speak in Standard English, which will help them learn. Grammar Alive! discusses this concept and also says that conversation allows for grammatical discovery. Also during this exercise, it would be beneficial for a teacher to explain that language is situational and Standard English is appropriate in some situations, while home speak would be completely appropriate in others. Christensen states, "As teachers, we have daily opportunities to affirm that our students' lives and language are unique and important." This is one of the most important things I have learned through Grammar Alive! and the Christensen article-a teacher should not allow their students' to think that Standard English is the only correct way to speak and write [emphasize a point using a dash]. In other words, Christensen sums it up perfectly what teachers' should keep in mind while teaching grammar: "...we need to equip them [students] to question an educational system that devalues their lives and their knowledge" [ I know this was not the pattern of the week, but I saw these patterns in authentic text and couldn't help but experiment, so I attempted brackets when adding context in a direct quote and a colon to introduce a quote].