Essential thoughts:
I’ve never really had guiding principles in terms of grammar. I don’t even remember the last class in which I was taught grammar. I suppose it was somewhere around seventh grade, but if asked specifics about what I learned, I would probably stare blankly. I suppose my desire to make my own class memorable and beneficial for my students stems from that realization - grammar education is excruciatingly forgettable.
Newly found principles on grammar:
While grammar and the ability to speak properly have always come easily for me, I realize those two things are not innate. Until recently, I never realized how much my upbringing influenced my speech, and consequently my writing. I, like most people, write the way I speak, so my writing has always been at least passable. My mother has a fantastic vocabulary and is exceptionally articulate, so as a child, I had constant exposure to proper English. As a toddler phrases like, “Consider your actions!” were not uncommon. It was easy for me to learn how to write higher level essays because I didn’t have to think about word choice and mechanics, I just had to learn how to organize an essay and develop my thoughts. The area in which I teach is not one that is known for its residents’ ability to speak formal English. As a writing teacher, I am slapped in the face daily by the reality that what I teach is cancelled out several times over as soon as my kids go home. Fifty five minutes a day (or 20 of my talking) is not enough to impact them.
So... my guiding principles? Teach them the fundamentals. The fact that I didn’t have to learn the fundamentals does not mean that they don’t. I treat it as though I am giving a golf lesson to a player who has practiced bad habits for years. They may know how to play golf. They probably do it every day. But the more they ingrain the wrong practices, the harder it becomes to reverse them. So I have to break it down. I have to pretend the player is not an athlete, that they have never played a good round of golf, that they have only seen one played. This amateur hacker is analogous to my average student. They have heard people use proper English, but they have practiced bad habits for years. They may know how to communicate using English because they do it every day, but unless I take them back to the basics, they will continue to build on the wrong practices. They will forever make it to the 18th hole but be disappointed with the score on their card.
