What in the world has happened to good grammar?  What do I mean by this statement?  Let me explain.

I have always loved the English language.  I respect grammar in all languages, spoken and visual alike.  It is an essential part of excellent communication.  But, it is not being taught in the same way that I was in “grammar” school.

Some years ago, schools decided to teach grammar through the process of reading literature, as opposed to the rote learning of tenses, parts of speech and the other essentials of learning a language.  I have had many opportunities to experience the effects of this method and have not found this to be an adequate course of action.

I am not saying that learning grammar through literature is a bad idea.  Coupled with rote exercises, this could be the “perfect” way to internalize the rules of grammar.  However, when I have asked high school students to tell me the part of speech of a word, I have often gotten blank looks.  I see many, many examples of punctuation misused and underused.  The writing skills of some high school students are below the standards I was expected to know in elementary school.

I know that this cannot be true always and everywhere.  But, I think that it must be acknowledged that there are a substantial amount of young people who need additional, varied methods to competently master these skills.  Rote learning doesn’t have to be the same as when I was a child. There are new, improved, more engaging programs now, using rhymes and songs  These techniques are “user-friendly” ways of learning the basics.

Grammar is something I love, so it pains me to hear and see improper usage of the English language.  When a person speaks well it makes a good impression.  It can help one obtain a good job.  Communication skills are sorely needed everywhere.  When a job applicant has the ability to write clearly and capably, it widens the pool of opportunity.

I guess what I am trying to communicate, is that bad grammar does unintended harm to the one who exhibits this behavior.  It tends to give the impression of having less intelligence, even when that may be far from the truth.

I hope that we can correct these problems with a combination of instructional practices, that will produce a fruitful crop of excellent communicators.  If we can accomplish this, not only will we understand each other more, but we will be better at solving problems together. That would be a wonderful message to be conveyed in speech and writing alike.