Blog 7

The first and foremost point that the author makes in the article is that teachers should not be so focused on the wrong's and right's of teaching, on the black and white of grammar and learning in the classroom. With that being said, the author focuses on a single idea; the changing of perspective. The changing of perspective in the classroom is important because just as the world does, the classroom is always changing. We must think and act progressively, as it is prevalent to our education and our students. As the author began teaching grammar, she didn't necessarily see the problem in incorporating learning grammar and writing together. However, as she discovered the continued importance put on learning the rules and principles of grammar rather than as it pertains to writing, she began to question its true meaning in the classroom. It was being treated as a tool to grade students rather than a mechanism to improve writing. Here, the author finds herself reaching another perspective yet again. She realized that she couldn't just be using grammar as a mechanism for penalization, instead there needed to be real conversation about grammar in order for it to be effective in writing. Students ought not to think of grammar as right or wrong, but as a tool to better writing, however grammar might do that for them. Difference in sentence structure serves as individualism for students voices. The shift in perspective that I most appreciate in the article, is that of realizing that grammar creates meaning. To me, grammar had always been a set of rules of a system of do's and don't's. I did not realize until I furthered into my writing career how much grammar adds to the overall meaning of a piece. Grammar defines, draws attention, and changes sentence to make them resonate with the writer and the reader. This sense of importance should not be stripped away within the education system because of the feeling that teachers need to make grammar about correctiveness. Instead, we need to take light from this piece, and make efforts towards reforming english education, and realizing that grammar is not to be a tool used against effective learning but to be incorporated into effective learning.