Yes, Good Grammar Is Important

We make lots of jokes about the importance of good grammar. Some of us are grammar Nazis who lurk on Facebook and other online forums ready to correct the "great unwashed masses" when they forget an apostrophe or misuse to, too, or two. Others are the type telling these seemingly obsessive protectors of the English language to "lighten up" because it's "just the internet after all" and "no one can expect everyone to be perfect all the time."  Whether you fall into one of these groups or somewhere in between, the simple truth is good grammar is important.

If you ask the average person on the street whether or not using good grammar is important, you may be surprised at the variety of responses you will receive. It seems the debate over the significance of prescriptive English grammar is alive, and sometimes slightly aggressive, in the court of public opinion. My personal belief is that the study and mastery of proper English grammar is not only necessary, but also imperative. Our students’ overall success beyond the academic world is dependent upon their ability to write and speak clearly and professionally – an impossible task without at least some degree of working knowledge involving grammar. My ideology regarding English grammar has developed not simply because I am a teacher of English, but also due to the fact that I have spent so much of my life performing a variety of jobs in the private sector including many years spent as a hiring manager for several different businesses.

In this digital age of texts, tweets, instant messages, and emails, some will argue the use of prescriptive grammar has become out-dated or even archaic; however, when it comes to the professional world nothing could be farther from the truth. Kyle Weins, CEO of iFixit and Dozuki, administers grammar tests to every applicant for every position in his companies. Weins’ justification for using this tool across the board is “grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts” (2012). While Weins’ tactics may be slightly more militant than those employed by other companies, the simple fact is more companies today are including grammar and writing tasks in their application processes. These businesses are also turning more potential employees away due to their inability to successfully complete these activities.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how intelligent, capable, or qualified applicants may be, if they are incapable of presenting themselves competently through their speech and writing. For better or worse, using poor grammar portrays a person as careless, lazy, or at worst ignorant. None of these qualities are highly sought after by any business owner. In this age of electronic applications, contact with potential employers can be limited to written artifacts like cover letters, resumes, and personal websites or social media profiles. Our written words represent our first, and sometimes only, impression. The ability to use proper grammar signifies not only credibility and professionalism, but also commands a degree of immediate respect from those reading and reviewing the materials presented. This in itself is more than enough reason to ensure our students learn and master grammar.

 Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I will leave you with a bit of fun. Weird Al's take on grammar is entertaining and timely - as we ready ourselves to return to school and decide exactly where grammar fits in our classrooms no matter what subjects or grade levels we teach.

Practical Skills: What Should We Be Teaching Our Students Today?

Over the years, I have had many spirited discussions with a wide variety of professionals working in and around the field of education debating the purpose of the public education system. What are our ultimate goals of achievement for our students?

I believe the main objective of education is to help prepare students to survive and thrive in the world beyond academia. I support the integration of practical skills in secondary education over the continuation of solely academic pursuits.


Unfortunately, no matter how much we push, prod, and cajole, no matter how much we extol the virtues of seeking an education beyond high school,  approximately 7,000 students drop out of high school every day. Nationally, 75.5% do manage to graduate, but only about 68.3% of these students go on to enroll in college.

For those who see secondary education as a preparation period for students' continuing education, what exactly are we doing for the approximately 31.7% of our students who either do not graduate or do not go on to attend college, but enter the workforce instead?

In 2011, there were 15.9 million people, ages 16 to 24, who were not enrolled in school. They were out in the world working or looking for work.  Even those who attend college are going to have to seek employment. either during college (38.8% of full-time college students also work) or after.

The fact is that in our society today no one knows what the future is going to look like. As educators, we are currently trying to prepare our students for a world (and a job market) that does not yet exist. According to Meghan Casserly's article at Forbes, here are 10 jobs that didn't exist 10 years ago:

• App Developer
• Market Research Data Miner
• Educational/Admissions Consultant
• Millennial Generational Expert
• Social Media Manager
• Chief Listening Officer
• Elder Care
• Sustainability Expert
• User Experience Design
• Cloud Computing Services

According to the 2012 Job Outlook Report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers today are looking for:

1. Ability to work in a team - 79.8%
2. Leadership - 77.2%
3. Communication skills (written) - 75.6%
4. Problem-solving skill- 74.1%
5. Strong work ethic - 73.1%
6. Analytical/quantitative skills - 72.0%
7. Communication skills (verbal) - 67.4%
8. Initiative - 65.3%
9. Technical skills - 61.1%
10. Detail-oriented - 57.5%
11. Flexibility/adaptability- 56.0%
12. Computer skills - 55.4%
13. Interpersonal skills (relates well to others) - 54.9%
14. Organizational ability- 50.8%
15. Strategic planning skill- 29.0%
16. Friendly/outgoing personality - 29.0%
17. Creativity - 22.3%
18. Entrepreneurial skills/risk-taker - 21.8%
19. Tactfulness - 21.2%

This is a lot of information to consider, but it seems to me that a systematic and concentrated integration of practical skills education would be the place to begin educational reform.

 

Technology

 

First, when looking at both the list of new jobs and the skills employers are looking for, technology obviously plays a huge role. From what I've seen in the majority of high school technology programs, they need to be improved. Kids today know all about playing with technology, often better than the teacher - my students have taught me many tricks. However, if all we are allowing them to do is play with it in school, then they really aren't learning much. Students need to be given practical assignments to show off their skills, learn new ones, and realize that technology can be far more than play.

 

Not to say that there are not exceptional teachers in the field of technology or those that integrate technology in practical ways, but as a whole, technology applications need to be made more practical. Additionally, I strongly believe that all schools should require compulsory technology training as part of their Professional Development Plans every year for all teachers.

 

How can we possibly teach kids about technology, if we do not have the skills ourselves? Also, an added benefit would be teachers who actually use the technology available to them in their classrooms. I cannot count the number of classrooms I have been in that are equipped with SMART boards that are NEVER used - what a waste of money and resources!

 

Practical Work Opportunities

 

The majority of students who drop out do so because either they see no life value in what the are receiving from their educations or they believe they would be better off working or they have to work to help support themselves and/or their families. Why not take advantage of the government monies available for training (it is out there) and involve the larger community by partnering up and offering students the opportunity to apply for paid internships with local businesses?   

 

Additionally, students in high school should all be required to take a personal finance/life skills class, and it should be as realistic as possible. Students should be taught to manage a budget and balance a checkbook using information from the real world such as average pay, rental prices, gas prices, etc. from they area in which they actually live. They should be taught how to write resumes and fill out job applications. They should be exposed to tax forms and learn how to read them. They should be exposed to paycheck stubs and learn how to interpret them. These are all practical skills that everyone is going to use eventually. When they are tailored to a specific area and to a particular student, they can be invaluable and, best of all, applicable to his/her life.

 

Team Building and Teamwork

 

Notice the top two attributes employers today are searching for: ability to work in a team and leadership. Team building and group work should be used on a regular basis across the curriculum. In real life situations, your students are not going to be working all by themselves exclusively. Dealing with group dynamics (both the good and the bad aspects) is a skill that must be learned. How to work effectively in groups is a skill that must be learned. Helping facilitate this learning is the responsibility of each and every educator.

 

Schools and teachers should also always be looking for opportunities to generate leadership roles and spread them out among the school population. Working in groups and teams can help provide these roles. I also support the use of community service projects and volunteerism to foster leadership skills, teamwork skills, and a number of other skills which I will discuss further at another time. Participation in sports, clubs, and organizations also offer the chance to work on leadership and teamwork. I believe teachers, sponsors, and coaches should use these opportunities to allow members to take on responsibility for and leadership of various tasks to help the greatest number of students.

 

 

Overall, I strongly believe the integration of practical skills education has the potential to both encourage and retain disenfranchised students, while also offering all our students (college-bound or not) authentic abilities applicable to their worlds beyond academia. So, if we are going to discuss educational reform, this seems like the most logical place to begin.

 

 

Spotlight on Sir Ken Robinson



Photo from Robinson's TED Profile

While I think most people in the United States today believe the public education system as it now stands is 'broken,' there is a great disparity in developing a comprehensible definition of the problem and even more inconsistency and confusion in cultivating a plan to ‘fix’ the problem.

 

Sir Ken Robinson is is an English author, speaker, and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education, and arts bodies. His theories on educational reform revolve around placing more importance on the arts, promoting student creativity, and solidly acknowledging and supporting multiple intelligences in instruction and learning.

 

According to Robinson, the model of the educational system today is utterly out-of-date. Our students are being groomed to be compliant factory workers in a society that no longer supports these types of occupations. As students’ creative minds are educated out of them, we are turning out a stunted workforce of citizens who are unable to think creatively or critically.


This video, from RSA Animate, details Robinson's thoughts on what is wrong with education today.
Changing the paradigm of education today is the first step in meaningful reform.

Robinson is unquestionably a wonderful motivational speaker in the world of education. In this video, recorded at the TED conference in 2010, he discusses moving away from standardized education and developing a personalized curriculum that supports the creation of an environment where children's natural talents can grow and flourish. He advocates, not reform, not evolution, but rather revolution in the world of education.

Ultimately, I find Sir Ken Robinson to be highly motivational and inspirational. He has a way with words and tells some of the greatest anecdotes related to children's education and learning that I have ever heard.

After listening to his speeches and reading many articles he has authored, I am moved to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. I really don't know how anyone in the world of education who considers themselves a progressive thinker could not be influenced by the message this man is sending out.

My only criticism is this - while Robinson is absolutely fantastic at the conveyance of 'big ideas' for educational reformation, or transformation, he doesn't really offer any feasible ideas for making these types of changes a reality. Listening to him provokes a response in those who listen to him, but now what do we do? The wheels of change turn slowly in education. What can we do now to make a difference? What little changes can we make in our classrooms to promote creativity and allow our students to develop their personal talents?

I would like to think I do my part for the cause. I believe stressing cross-curricular integration (especially music and the arts), regularly using kinesthetic activities, and stressing the equal importance of the creative and critical mind to academic success in the classroom are all immediate actions that can be taken to support Robinson's 'big ideas.'

Knowing change is needed and taking steps to facilitate change are two very separate things. Ideas without actions are not worth the air it takes to say them or the time it takes to write them. So, if you believe in the kind of change being called for by Robinson, how exactly do we make that happen?

Anatomy of a Unit Plan: William Golding's Lord of the Flies

I love writing new unit plans! Researching for hours. Pulling together resources from far and wide. Figuring out ways to challenge and engage my students in new and interesting ways. Thinking "outside the box," I regularly pull history, sociology, psychology, technology, current events, pop culture, art, and music into my literature lessons. 

As an educator and a lover of literature, I want my students to engage with the text. I want them to not just read the words on the page, but think about them as well. I want them to not just know what happened in the story, but also to consider why it happened. What motivated the author to craft the story? What are the characters' motivations? Why is the conflict occurring? What if the character/setting/actions were different? What would happen then? How can we relate our own story to the one we are reading?

When our students write, we are constantly telling them to show us, not tell us. I think when we teach literature we should take our own advice. I believe too many English teachers spend too much time telling students about literature, explaining the symbols and themes and motifs, and molding the way students think about the stories they are reading by imposing too many of the teacher's own beliefs about and interpretations of the text. We should be figuring out ways to engage our students in the texts, to allow them to experience the stories themselves rather than vicariously through our own knowledge and experience.

The wonderful thing about literature is a story you read at 13 is probably not going to have the same meaning to you if you read it again in your 20s, and it most definitely is not going to be the same if you read it in your 30s. Our students deserve the opportunity to experience literature in a way that allows for interpretations coloured by their own backgrounds, beliefs, and life experiences.

 

The Choice is Made

As I browsed through the approved list of novels for my courses' teacher-choice units, I was ecstatic to see Golding's Lord of the Flies. Now, this book was part of the classes' summer reading lists; however, after quick survey of my students, only about half of them had even attempted to read it. Approximately one quarter actually made it to the end (or almost to the end), and only a handful of those students liked the story. Most of those who read it were quite vocal about their dislike (or more often hatred) of the story.

When I pushed them for reasons why they didn't like it, the majority said the story didn't make any sense to them. People wouldn't really behave that way. And as one of my most outspoken students so succinctly put it - "it's just a bunch of boys runnin' around half naked and killing each other for no reason."

After about 10 minutes of discussion, I decided to accept the challenge!

With the accompaniment of many moans and groans, I announced that we would in fact be taking on Lord of the Flies for our next unit beginning the following week with the promise that I would show them the story was far more than a bunch of half-naked boys killing each other in the jungle for no reason.

 

Now What?

Obviously, we did vocabulary and comprehension exercises combined with questions involving inference and interpretation because my students have to understand the story being told. We did discuss characters and symbols. (You can find a comprehensive study guide with vocabulary and reflections here.) But I wanted to give my kids more. I wanted them to have an experience with this book. We concentrated on the themes - how they apply to us and then how we can apply them to the boys in the story.

 

The Beginning

I like to begin at the beginning, so we started with Golding himself. After giving my students a brief biography of Golding's role in world War II, we discussed the war. (As a happy accident, my classes were studying WWII at the same time.) We talked as a group about the events of the war and the changes in the 'war machine' that took place during this time and how these evolutions (or devolutions, if you'd rather) changed people's perceptions about man's inhumanity to man and what behavior could be justified by war. Moving on, we discussed right and wrong, good and evil, and the capacity of an individual to cross these lines. While my students did a good job identifying events and changes that took place during the war and seemed to have a handle on why these things changed public opinion, most of them were still very 'black and white' in their views regarding the broad concepts of right or wrong - good or evil. This is just what I was expecting and what I had planned for, but more on that later.

Switching gears from broad themes back to the story itself, I posited the question, "What is the main goal for these boys?" A resounding, "Survive," issued forth from my students, and a conversation about surviving in the wilderness ensued. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised how many 15-16-year-olds watch Survivorman and know who Bear Grylls is. All in all, the majority of my kids felt pretty confident that they knew enough to survive. "It's not that big a deal," one boy answered, "it's all about common sense." OK! Let's put this to the test. Bring on the "Would You Survive?" Quiz!

(Regrettably, I can no longer find the link to the original quiz, so you can find it and the answer key with explanations here on my blog. If this is yours, please let me know and I will link the resource to you and remove it from my resources page.)

Lesson learned? Survival is not quite as easy as they thought it would be.

So, what's up next? If you are in a survival situation, how much would that change your beliefs or behavior? Would it be possible to justify decisions you probably wouldn't make in your everyday life? Here is the "Who Should Survive?" group activity to help you answer these very questions.

Splitting my students into 5 or 6 groups per class, they worked together through this activity. (Some of my more "delicate flowers" found this exercise mildly distressing, just so you are aware.) As the groups defended their choices about who to keep and who to leave behind, we also kept track of which characters were chosen and which were sacrificed on the board (overall there was a definite pattern which we also discussed).

Lesson learned? In a survival situation most of us are looking for people who we believe will benefit us the most. Although, some groups did exhibit a strong protective instinct for those smaller and weaker than themselves. Interesting.

Finally, we explored the difference between right and wrong beginning with a discussion and brainstorming session to figure out what behaviors we believe are fundamentally wrong either because of society or our own beliefs and phrased simply as 'do not.' Examples included: do not steal, do not kill people, do not lie, etc. I questioned my students extensively about the 'black and white' nature of these statements. All of them agreed that these are the rules we are supposed to live by, and the majority of them could not find exceptions that would persuade them these behaviors were not wrong. (Hahaha, my plan is coming together!)

Using an extended version of The Heinz Dilemma, we worked through the scenarios with the kids reading and responding to each vignette individually first, then discussing it as a group. As we systematically decided what was right or wrong (by majority vote), I marked through the list we had made on the board. In the end, the entire 'do not' list was toast.

Lesson learned? There is lots and lots of gray area between what is right and wrong. Sometimes what we can justify as appropriate behavior or response is completely dependent on the situation. Occasionally, we need to walk in someone else's shoes to understand their actions.

In the End

After completing these activities along the way, we finished up our novel by taking a deeper look at the three remaining main characters: Ralph, Jack, and Roger. First, as a group, we determined exactly what actions each boy had been responsible for on the island. Then, we discussed what crimes the boys could have been charged had they behaved this way in the real world.

The final writing assignment was this - choose a character, choose the charges you believe should be held against them, mount a defense for their actions (taking into account their decisions and actions were made in a survival situation; they did not believe they would be rescued; the oldest was only 12 years old; etc.), decide on an appropriate punishment (if any) and give reasons justifying your decision.

By the conclusion of this unit, my students not only understood that this story was more than they first believed, but I feel they also grew more socially and emotionally aware of themselves and one another as well as achieving academic success. Goals achieved!

**As a side-note, I am searching for an activity that I can use with Lord of the Flies that concretely demonstrates 'mob mentality' for the scene in the story where Simon is killed by the boys. If anyone has any ideas about this, I would be most grateful if you would share!