In his article, "Good English and Bad," Bill Bryson takes a look at grammar and its effect on the English language. He describes the average "grammarian," who is so obsessed with the correct use of grammar that it is all they focus on when reading and/or writing. Bryson also points out, however, that there are many grammarians who have committed numerous faux pas in their own writing. If these so-called experts at grammar are capable of making mistakes in their own field of knowledge, then how are the rest of us supposed to be able to recall the proper verb tenses at the drop of a hat, much less use them correctly?
While grammar is still important, it is worth remembering that in some cases, there are people that simply do not have access to knowledge that provides them with a sense of grammatical expertise. Certain schools don't even think that teaching grammar is that important anymore. Naturally, there will always be the regulatory two-week emphasis on subjects, prepositions, and verb tenses, but other than that, a student can go through their entire school experience without being properly educated where grammar is concerned. I was in "advanced" English classes all through middle school and high school, yet I didn't receive a proper lesson on prepositions until my senior year. It is important to remember that these days, even the most accomplished student can get to college without the knowledge that others receive in the first few years of elementary school.
Hey Megan,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting Intro/Conversation draft. I like how you set up the construct and how the whole thing reads like it's own little essay. You don't have to do this, of course, because process work in this course can always be incomplete or end abruptly but I think it's interesting what you do with this assignment.
I really like how you are careful to say how grammar is something that we are judged on in this sentence:
"Even outside of the writing community, teachers and other people in positions of authority use grammar to judge pieces of writing. "
But I want you to think about the next sentence:
"In the society we live in today, however, grammar seems to have taken a backseat, especially since there are so many ways to communicate these days."
I'm just afraid that claiming that grammar seems to have taken a backseat "in society today" is problematic because "society" is such a large generalization. Try to qualify this more, perhaps by talking about certain communities or situations in which grammar takes a backseat.
Of course, the other thing is that your conversation is lacking some other voices. I like what you've done with Bryson but you need to go some of the research (you can check out what I've posted on the main blog) to find some other points of view to add to the conversation. Great start so far, Megan. I'm really excited about this project.