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Proofreading prof charged with ‘microaggression’
Protesters claimed a “toxic” racial climate in UCLA’s graduate education school motivated their sit-in last week in the classroom of Professor Val Rust. Call2Action protesters said Rust committed...
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Students: ‘Us deserve respect’
At an F-rated New York City high school, failing students earn quick credits through online courses, the New York Post reported. While it’s called “blended learning,” the credit-recovery “courses”...
View ArticleTeach grammar through writing
The best way to teach grammar is to teach writing, argues Michelle Navarre Cleary in The Atlantic. Teaching the rules of grammar, parts of speech and diagramming sentences alienates students from...
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Whom, RIP
Whom has died after a lingering illness, reports John Merrow. “Whom, of Latin origin, leaves no immediate survivors. A sole sibling, Whomever, passed away many years earlier.” Whom’s recent years...
View ArticleWord crimes
Weird Al Yankovic has released Word Crimes. (It’s a parody of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, which I know only because I looked it up.)
View ArticleTeaching grade 12½
The first year of college has become grade 12½, writes a community college writing instructor. Actually, it’s more like grade 7 1/2: He’s teaching punctuation, grammar, sentence structure and spelling.
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Robo-writing tutors
Robo-readers are better than humans at helping students improve their writing, argues Annie Murphy Paul on the Hechinger Report. “The computer functions not as a grader but as a proofreader and basic...
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The lost art of diagramming sentences
Pop Chart Lab has diagrammed the first lines of famous novels, such as Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Diagramming sentences is a lost art, reports NPR. It’s a “picture of language,” says Kitty Burns...
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Grammar fail: College kids can’t write
Novelist Michael Laser was hired to teach university freshmen to write essays. But he discovered his students can’t write clear, grammatically correct sentences. Teaching writing to first-year students...
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College writing center: Grammar is racist
Grammar is “racist,” proclaims the writing center at the University of Washington, Tacoma. In fact, everything’s racist. Language structure is “unjust.” “We promise to emphasize the importance of...
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Grammar, the Archenemy of Joy?
Why do people assume that sustained instruction in grammar (including sentence parsing) will rob students of joy and do irreparable damage to the soul? The other day, Dana Goldstein’s article “Why Kids...
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