Blog 7

In Deborah Dean’s article, Focus: Shifting Perspectives about Grammar she explains how her points of view on teaching grammar has shifted. While at first she believed on teaching based on the textbook, she learned that that only taught teaching in one light—right or wrong. [Dash to add emphasis to right and wrong] Although teaching from the textbook and having her students point out only what different parts of speech were was the curriculum she was told to do, she realized it wasn’t working for her students. [AWUUBUS to have two different types of information in one sentence] Next she had her students write sentences using specific forms of grammar. This made her think about writers though; Writers don’t sit down and think “and now I think it’s time for a simple sentence” they just write. Her focused shifted to teaching based on genre. Her shifts between how she taught still had the air of “right or wrong” which is STROL as a whole. It’s not saying “while writing a professional piece you only use these forms of sentences” or “during a creative piece is the only time you use participles” because this isn’t true. I will need to remind myself that as a teacher it is not my job to tell my students when something is right or wrong, but to guide them with how grammar can be used as a tool.

                As a future educator, I have found how important it is to not teach your students what is right and what is wrong. Shutting down a students’ writing consequentially makes the student not want to write and/or allow students to not take risks in their own writing. I know from personal experience that if a student doesn’t feel comfortable using a form of punctuation, they won’t use it. Or if a teacher teaches their students to write long sentences and those will be seen as “good sentences” teaches the student to write run-on sentences. What a teacher says to their students has a major effect on the rest of their curriculum, and grammar is a touchy subject. With teaching STROL I have learned that it is important to teach other people’s cultures, but in a way that doesn’t make a student feel like an object, but so you can help them learn their culture and that it is okay to write different than other students. I have also learned to not be one of those teachers to just redline. It is important to keep in mind with your students that you are not there to tell them right or wrong, but to educate them and help them get better. Each student has their own creative voice and it is important to keep this in mind. For me, in my papers, I use simple sentences to show my reader that I think this is an important part of my paper. But some teachers do not appreciate that and mark that down (as you can tell I’m a bit bitter—it happened recently). [Parenthesis used to show my irritation and dash to emphasize when it happened] Appreciating a student’s individual voice and marking on content versus grammar is key in teaching. Grammar can be taught and can help a teacher see what they need to work on—it is not a negative thing. It is a way for teachers to know what they need to teach. As a future educator, I need to keep in mind that content is more important and to use a student’s incorrect grammar as useful.

Beginning of my Research Paper

For my research project I will be researching the history of Black English: the development from African people coming as slaves developed to the Black Freedom Movements (also known as the Civil Rights Movement) and the effect it has had on English studies in classrooms now. After the research I have done, I am in awe by the perseverance blacks have had to keep their native language, be able to go to school, be seen as equal, and still comes back to blacks trying to keep their native tongue. My most useful resource will be Vernacular Insurrection—a book—which goes into detail about black [an appositive to explain what book I will be using. Parenthetical dashes are used to show that it’s not necessary but it explains what my resource is] “Race, Protest, and the New Century in Composition-Literacies Studies” (cover) throughout the US and effect is has on classes in society today.

                What I have below are my notes from my 5 sources. It explains the facts that I think are important for my research paper and will help me later to have them set up this way. With the notes I have so far (I haven’t written specific notes for the last two) do you think they will be helpful for my paper? Does my paper seem like it has a distinct order and will be a useful thing to research for my future teaching?

Notes from Sources:

·         Vernacular Insurrections

o   1920’s student protest

§  Many black colleges held strict dress code and behavior codes

§  Black publications used to keep black communities informed

§  UNIA

·         Article 31:

o   Majority white teachers

o   Teach blacks to the inferior

·         Article 30

o   Education that is prejudice free

·         Article 49

o   Negro children be taught negro history

§  Fisk University

·         Chant “Before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave”

o   Prefer burial than the slavery of higher education learning

o   Spurred the protests in the ‘50s and ‘60s

§  New Literary Studies (NLS)

·         “…believe that power to black students will come from mimicking the grammar of standardized forms…substitute that belief…knowing anything substantial about the history and present reality of black students’” (32)

o   Emancipation movement

§  Shortened summer breaks

§  Choosing school over clothes or food

§  Asked to open earlier

§  Walked barefoot on ice

§  Not just students

§  Surprised by how fast slaves learned

o   Sipuel v. board of Regents of University of Oklahoma

§  Denied to university of Oklahoma because of race

§  Roped off section of state capital

§  Had 3 people come to teach her

o   Page 52

o   Many white teachers don’t understand how to put into effect STROL

o   Pedagogy is presented as black and white history—not one history

o   More white students than black (92)

o   STROL what not always used in the way it was supposed to

§  Or in a way that was beneficial

§  Would teach it offensively

·         Speak native tongue at a picnic

·         Must speak proper at a dinner setting

§  To use STROL we must know and understand the student (98)

·         BBC Full History http://www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/fullhistory.html

o   Goes over trials that were well known in the 1950’s and what happened

o   The Aftermath

§  The NAACP won

·         Brown V. Board

·         Revolutionized the courts, lawyers, and law under social justice

·         Smitherman

o   From Africa to the New World and into the Space Age

o   Black Dialect

§  Africanized form of English

§  Two dimensional

·         Language and style

§  African slaves

·         Developed pidgin

·         Evolved into a creole

·         Different African tribes

o   Ibo ,Yoruba, Hausa

§  Status depended on use of white English

·         Frederick Douglas

§  Gullah People

·         South Carolina and Georgia

§  Contemporary Black English looks back to an African Linguistic tradition

·         Ebonics and the danger of racial politics: a socialist viewpoint

o   http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1997/04/ebon-a21.html

·         Insurrections: approaches to resistance in Composition Studies

o   http://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/journals/composition-studies/docs/bookreviews/32-2/unger.pdf

Blog 5

In the article written by Smitherman, Chapter 1 “From Africa to the New World and into the Space Age”, it explained Black English and how it started and why it is still used today. When I was reading this article what stood out was the reason behind why some of the words that are used are in a particular order: it’s the correct order for their native tongue. An example that was given was from Smitherman’s own classroom. She explained that she had a German student and when he quoted Patrick Henry’s famous quote he wrote, “Give me the liberty or the death”. Although this was incorrect for Standard English, in his native tongue that is correct. [Complex sentence: dependent clause first followed by comma and the independent clause to emphasize the idea of student’s right to their own language concept] This is similar to Black English. In Black English if someone was to say “He tell me he God,” this is not incorrect. It is for Standard English… but for Black English this stems from the same structure as West African.

Understanding people’s backgrounds is crucial while teaching. For students that speak a different language at home, being told at school that that language is totally and completely incorrect is hurtful: The language that their mom or dad or grandma or grandpa use. Although it is easy to tell your students that what they are doing is wrong, it is more beneficial to them to not shut down their native tongue. As a teacher it is better to show them different ways in which they can use Standard English and guide them through lessons you give the class, but with some students they will go back to their native tongue—and that’s okay. With some of the things that are written, and English teacher still understands what they are trying to say. With Black English slaves were not taught how to use English, this led to them hypercorrecting their language: they would say one man, two mans instead of saying two men for the plural of man. [A colon that gives examples of the hypercorrection for people who speak Black English].

The reading I did by Smitherman correlates with the Tea Part exercise we did the other day in that the black community strives to keep their native tongue. For some, if someone uses white English is looked down upon to use, but they also like speaking in the tongue of what they grew up using and hearing. This is similar to the story I had at the tea party. At the tea party I had John Rickford, a man who strived to keep Ebonics [complex sentence with a relative clause: it relates back to which specific man, John Rockford] (the main language of some African American students) alive and to make sure people were not ashamed of using their native tongue. This is similar to Smitherman’s piece because even though contemporary African linguistic has changed over time to become Black English, it still keeps similar aspects of African linguistics alive.

After reading this article I am planning on digging deeper into Black English for my research project. Black English is a language that teachers all over the United States come in contact with and teachers should know how to go about it. Specifically, I want to know more about the hypercorrection that is done and how I can teach these students without forcing the idea that Standard English is the one and only form of English that is allowed.

Preparation for Final Portfolio

1.)    Colon

“He was a rich man: banker, merchant, manufacturer, and what not: (Dickens, 19).

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times.  Oxford University Press, 1989.

“…; yet I was not a young Wench of Seventeen and it was easie enough to be distinguish’d: There is nothing so absurd, so surfeiting, so ridiculous as a Man heated by Wine in his Head, and a wicked Gust in his Inclination together;…” (Defoe, 179).

Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2004.

“Emerson uses words like: own, mine, my, and we. Words that show ownership.”

I wrote this in a paper for my 19th Century British Literature class.

The examples above are all examples of a colon, although the third example I gave is incorrect. Do you know why?

Colon’s are used to signal information, emphasis an explanation, or shows that a long explanation lies ahead. Although the third signals information and introduces a list, it has an awkward break in the middle of an incomplete sentence. With colon’s you are not allowed to put one between a verb and its object as well as between a preposition and its object. How I would change the third sentence is to write it as a complete sentence before the colon: “Emerson uses four words to emphasis his point: own, mine, my, we…words that show ownership.” The sentence flows nicer and it is grammatically correct.

2.)    Subordinating Conjunctions

“When he is satisfied, he places the deck on the billiard table" (Morgenstern, 212).

Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. Doubleday, 2011.

“If not, please step aside because I’m about to kick the shit out of life” (Semple).

Semple, Maria. Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Little, Brown and Company, 2012.

“Although English was my favorite class in High School I never thought of it as a career: until I came to college, I always found reasons why I shouldn’t teach: until I came to college and started by business classes.”

I wrote this for a blog.

The examples above are all examples of subordinating conjunctions, they are all correct. Do you know why?

Subordinating conjunctions connect independent (sentence can stand on its own) and dependent (sentence cannot stand on its own) clauses together. They connect two sentences that are not equal. We as writers use subordinating conjunctions all the time: Although, after, as, while, when, until, because, before, if, since are just some. The sentence type (independent and dependent) can be in either order, but you need them both to have the sentence make sense. You can also have a subordinating conjunction in the middle or at the beginning of the sentence. The second sentence has a subordinating conjunction in both places (not always necessary but for this sentence it works). Mary Semple could have written “If not, please step aside. I’m about to kick the shit out of life.” But because she has the “because” in between with the comma it adds emphasis and shoes that the two parts coincide. Also, having the two simple sentences makes the sentence seem more professional when that is not the tone the author wanted to emphasize.

3.)    Dash

“Oh God! what could I do? I foamed—I raved—I swore! I swung the chair …but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder—louder—louder!” (Poe 17).

Poe, Edgar Allen. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ Great American Short Stories. Dover Thirft Editions, 2002.

“I will analyze them separately then explain how they both—although similar—view the theme of nature differently."

I wrote this for a paper for my 19th Century British Literature Class.

“She was so constrained, and yet so careless; so reserved, and yet so watchful; so cold and proud, and yet so sensitively ashamed of her husband’s braggart humility—from which she shrunk as if every example of it were a cut or a blow;…”(Dickens, 121).

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times.  Oxford University Press, 1989.

  

“He also explained the levels of execution—decapitation, hanging, stake and the wheel, and to quarter—and how each level works on this art of pain.”

I wrote this for a blog.

The examples above are all examples of dashes, they are all correct. Do you know why?

Dashes are used to set off single words, phrases or clauses; they are used to emphasize, draw attention or add information; they can also be parenthetical. Dashes are informal and draw your reader into the point you are trying to get across. They also are used to show a sudden break or abrupt change, to show a side comment, to explain or add information, to show hesitation or stammering, and to show attributions. The fourth example I had used the dash for parenthetical use as well as to add information.

 For my final portfolio I plan on making a flipbook. The flipbook’s main audience will be myself. I am picking concepts that I struggle with and the flipbook with be a good tool for me when I am teaching. Also by creating the flipbook I will be able to memorize the techniques I have problems with easier.

Blog 3

In Darren Crovitz’s article “Sudden Possibilities”, he explains Mina Shaughnessy’s concept that teachers should look at the reasons why students make mistakes rather scribbling notes on how to fix. “Proofread” shouldn’t be the advice your students receive while in class because your students (most) don’t know the correct uses of grammar yet. [Parenthesis] They are still in the trial and error process of their writing. Grammar is also taught strictly based off memorization and copying a friend and luck. [List with “ands” and no commas] They are not understanding any of the information they are learning or answering.

The way students are being taught is Daily Oral Language (DOL) and Daily Grammar Practice (DGP). Both DOL and DGP don’t have students integrate grammar into their own writing. Instead of learning the material, students do the least they can do to get points. Students memorize the material that they need for that day; students don’t know the rules so instead of learning the material they copy from a friend; the students will also guess the answer just waiting for the teacher to give them the correct answer.

One of the alternatives to the typical DOL exercise that Crovitz gave was “transform a sentence to make it appropriate to other contexts”. The students themselves will have a plain sentence that they transform into a similar sentence but worded differently. [Reflexive pronoun to show emphasis] The example Covitz uses is “You’re fired”. From there the children can change the sentence to “We regret to inform you that your professional services are no longer required”, “Sorry, Bob, but with the poor economy we have to let you go”, and “Get out now and don’t come Back!” Although all the sentences mean that he is getting fired, it allows your students to think of other ways things can be said.

This lesson can be done using magazine advertisements to show why the author used the sentence they did specifically to advertise their point. Also by using a magazine advertisement you can ask your students how by changing the sentence the advertisement can mean something different. For the advertisement “Got Milk” instead of it saying “Got Milk” it could’ve said “Do you have milk” which would be a completely different ad. Instead of advertising drinking milk to help you bones, it could be an ad for Safeway or Walgreens to go buy some milk. This will help your students see that the way words are organized and said can show different meanings.

I would also change this example so instead of having me as the teacher write down sentences my students transform, I’d have them use sentences in books they’ve read, their own papers, or sentences they came up with on the spot. This way it incorporates the students and allows them to work as well. If I just used my own sentences, it would be similar to DOL which doesn’t engage the students as much. This lesson can also be changed up. Instead of having your student sonly transform sentences short to long it can go the other way around. They also can see sentences that are used in books they are reading and transform a sentence to say something only slightly different but because of that slight difference it changes the context. This shows your students the importance of their sentence structure.

Blog 2

When I decided to go into teaching I hated the idea of teaching grammar. Not because I thought it was pointless—I thought that teaching grammar meant teaching Daily Grammar Practice (DGP). When I was in High School we learned grammar through Daily Grammar Practice—each week we had a sentence we worked on and each day we had different grammatical elements to work on—I learned nothing from my Daily Grammar Practice. [Dash—to explain or add information]  I thought I would need to know all the rules of Standard English and I knew I didn’t learn anything from my years of Daily Grammar Practice.  We were taught that these were the rules of grammar and if we don’t follow them than we will be incorrect and marked down…I never learned where to use the rules in real life situations. [Ellipsis—to indicate pause or hesitation] My teacher only stressed the grammatical elements for that sentence of the week. I never understood why I needed to know a words part of speech…I still don’t. [Ellipses—to indicate pause or hesitation]  A better way to teach grammar is to incorporate the lessons in reading assignments.  In Grammar Alive it explains how you can teach capitalization, paragraph length, and organization of information, numbers, sentence length and style, active versus passive voice, punctuation, and coordinating conjunctions through having your students read something and look for something specific in the text. Incorporating pieces of writing that your students are already reading will make it easier for them to see the grammatical techniques.

After reading Haussamen’s Grammar Alive!  As well as Christensen’s Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard, I have found that how I thought teachers are supposed to teach may not be the best way.  In Grammar Alive, it contradicts this idea and says, “’Standard English’ is a concept with some flexibility to it. It has its gray areas” (5).  There isn’t just one way to speak and write English—each person has their own unique way.[Dash—to emphasize an important point]  In Christensen’s article it explained how when she was younger she was pointed out in class for saying the word lawyer differently than another student.  Christensen than found herself being cautious with what she said in case she said something “incorrectly”.  Although I never thought of a teacher having students stand up and saying a word only to point out how “weird” or “different” that student had said it, I do believe that teachers have been known to correct a student on how they say a word.

The book Grammar Alive! And Christensen’s piece both contradicted my learning on how to teach…but I believe it made my teaching better. It is easy to forget that people in different states and countries will say words and phrases differently than myself. In the books it explains that the differences in their speech shows character and gives the writer a voice…instead of trying to write the same as everyone else. [Ellipses—to indicate pause or hesitation] Promoting your students individuality and showing them different ways to use grammar in their writing is a much more useful way to teach than having one way students can write because this isn’t realistic. There is no correct way to write. There are different techniques, and by promoting these different ways, your students will be better off. My point of view on teaching grammar has definitely improved for the better.

 

I used both the ellipses and the dash. I believe I used them both correctly because for the ellipses I used it to show hesitation and for the dash I used it to emphasize a point as well as explain or add information. I was already comfortable with the ellipses…I seem to enjoy adding hesitation to my writing. Now the das—is my new best punctuation friend and I use it constantly!

Self Assessment

This semester I want to work on improving three things in my writing: punctuation, tenses, and common words that sound alike. When writing, I find that I don’t vary my punctuation much.  I also switch between past and present tenses, and confuse similar sounding words.

The biggest issue I struggle with when I am writing is keeping my tenses straight. When I review my writing, I often find that I have flipped between past and present tense. I struggle with the past and present tense when I’m writing an essay on a book – technically, the books I read take place in the past, but they are written in present tense. An example of me switching between past and present tense in my writing is in my rough draft of my final paper for Introduction to Shakespeare. I wrote, “The best representation of this part of the theme identity, is in Macbeth, where Macbeth finds out that he is supposed to kill the King.” What I would change now would be: find to found, is to was, where to when, and is to was. My new sentence would read, “The best representation of this part of the theme identity was in Macbeth when Macbeth found out that he was supposed to be kind.” I did notice the errors when I proofread my paper.

Commas are my go to for punctuation. Instead of just using commas, I want to learn how to use semicolons, dashes, and hyphens; using these different techniques will make my writing better and make it more interesting to read. Lately I have been trying to integrate these different forms of punctuation that I am not comfortable with…trying to get out of my comfort zone. An example is from my response to the SRTOL: “First though, students need to be encouraged at a young age to find their own identity in their writing – not taught a set of rules that they feel should be followed for every essay.” I love the idea of using dashes because it shows when a sentence is important…I just need to make sure I am using it correctly.

I also want to work on knowing the differences between their, there, and they’re. I am getting better, but I still mess them up sometimes and second guess myself. I know when to use ‘they’re’ because I know if in a sentence it could be said as “they are” then it is they’re. I also struggle with when to use ‘then’ versus ‘than.’ 

By the end of the year I will be able to notice when I mess up the tenses and know what tense I need to use. I am extremely excited that, after this semester, I will no longer need my mom to check my papers for grammatical errors. Instead, I will have her use her skills to make sure my content makes sense.