Wandering the halls at Woodland you may see students leaving their English classrooms muttering ‘What the heck was that?’ or ‘what is grammar even good for anyways?’ Now, this could be due to a severe hatred of grammar(possibly) or because he or she simply does not understand grammar. Either way, grammar is something everyone struggles with at least once in their life.
Gail Pells, English teacher with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Masters degree in Broadcast Journalism, believes that grammar struggles start young. Pells says that if a child is not exposed to proper grammar from the start, they will have a hard time understanding grammar when they are older. She also believes that while being bilingual is a great skill, if English is not a child’s primary language as a child it can be a struggle for them for many years after.
One student, Mia Carranza, has a tendency to make her thoughts about grammar known.
“I understand Spanish grammar more than I do English,” Carranza exclaims.
For many students grammar just became prevalent in high school.In fact, many students struggle with grammar more than any other subject.
When this reporter was in eighth grade, the only time her class worked on grammar was when the teacher was absent. This caused her to believe that grammar was just busy work until she started my freshman year at Woodland and James Amato taught me the importance of grammar. Ever since that class, I have a much better understanding of grammar and how it works.
Because many teachers in middle school and lower levels do not put a lot of stress on the importance of grammar, the focus is mainly on different books, and types of literature; however, there needs to also be priority on grammar.
A child needs to know from a young age the importance of grammar. They should see it as something fun and important, instead of something confusing and boring. Grammar is fun. There are many different funny sentences that depend on grammar, such as:
Let’s eat, Grandpa.
Or, Let’s eat Grandpa.
Grammar may not seem as one of the most important things for a child between all the toys, sports, and crafts that seem more important. However, later in life it will be extremely important.
