Separation Anxiety

Upon coming into this class, I will admit that I felt a bit nervous about my own grammar skills, since it had been years since I have had any serious grammar lessons. However, after practicing in class a bit and working on my grammar scrapbook on my own, I realize that I actually know quite a bit more than I thought I did. The in-class activities, such as identifying parts of speech in newspaper headlines and practicing using apostrophes in a workshop session, have really helped to reaffirm my previous knowledge. I do feel much more confident in how to appropriately use apostrophes to indicate possession and pluralization.

Truthfully, I’m a little puzzled by the idea that grammar should not be taught separately in school as its own unit or sub-unit of writing curriculum. I understand that students process information better when it is contextualized. I find it interesting, however, that the teaching of grammar is moving so much toward this trend of contextualization and so far away from concept lessons, memorization, and practice of skills. Frankly, it makes me a little nervous.

I had a teacher in high school who was known fondly by past and present students as “the Grammar Nazi.” She began each school year with a comprehensive unit on grammar: the parts of speech, pronoun specifics, lists of prepositions, subject and verb agreement, etc. I remember despising this woman wholeheartedly for the first few weeks of school for the hell she was putting us through. However, once our unit was finished, the confidence I felt in my speaking and writing skills was invaluable. After taking written placement exams in several subjects for entrance to the Running Start program, I felt more grateful to that teacher than I had toward any teacher I had ever had. She helped me not only learn grammar both in the broad spectrum of applicability, but also in specific detail so as to be an excellent editor of my own skills in communication. She turned out more than ten years of incredibly articulate, confident writers whose writing was recognizable and exceptional to future teachers. I still send mental thank-you notes to this woman as I make my way through my college career. I do not think that we, ten years worth of students, are an exception in the idea that we were able to grasp grammar concepts with this method of teaching. Perhaps the Grammar Nazi was the exception in being able to teach it so wholly and so well. Either way, I find myself attached to this method and the success I have seen it yield.

I suppose I am still confused about the idea that grammar cannot be taught independently. I would also like more information or examples about contextualizing grammar into other lessons. For example, how can more subtle and variable nuances of the English language, such as differences in tenses and verb agreement between tenses be taught without some sort of comprehensive overview? I am open to such ideas and methods of teaching, but I would like more information which supports the reasoning behind it.

Question: A general rule I learned in high school for identifying the differences between adjectives and adverbs is that an adjective modifies a thing (a noun) whereas an adverb modifies an action (a verb). Is this still a good way to tell the difference between an adverb and an adjective at “first glance?”