I haven't posted on the blog in a while and I figured that it was time to update it and give the one person who looks at my blog something to read. So, here I go...

Grammar. What happened to it?  Is it a victim of the texting/IMing world that we live in now? Can it be that simple or is it a scapegoat for all of our grammatical problems?  I realize that I am not perfect; I do make mistakes with my grammar.  But, there is a general "dumbing-down" of students and young adults that cannot form proper sentences, spell common words or compose an email with punctuation. 

I believe that it does have a lot to do with technology.  If we think about texting it can explain some of the bad habits, but not all.  When texting first arrived on the scene, we were only able to push a number button the correct amount to get the letter we desired.  It was extremely time consuming and frustrating for some.  In an effort to make it a less arduous task, short-cuts were developed. "R U..., K", etc.  We had no need for capital letters or punctuation.  We didn't even need to spell correctly because we could always blame it on the keypad.  Then we graduated to QWERTY keyboards and Blackberries and could type away.  Some cell phones even have spell-check or the hilarious (when you get it wrong) auto correct.  Now it is as though people have a new language: LOL, ROTFL, BRB, OMG... the list goes on. 

In the "old days" a person wrote out a letter.  Communication wasn't as easy and you had to put time and effort into writing to a person.  You had to communicate the events of your life, feelings and all sorts of things so that you could feel that you were still in touch with your friend or special loved-one.  Now, there is no virtual distance between people. You can email (on your phone, laptop or tablet), Skype or text. There is no waiting. Or if there is waiting, a new set of communication issues can arise. Is that person mad at you, are they upset, are they in danger, why aren't they answering?  I sent them a text 5 minutes ago and no response. There is a general disbelief when I tell people that I do not have my cell phone with me at all times and that it is quite often in my purse, with the ringer off or the battery is dead.  Total disbelief.  I digress; cell phone etiquette is for another post.

I think that Microsoft has a lot to answer for.  MS Word will not only let you know when you have misspelled a word, but it will often correct it for you automatically and you won't even know that you spelled a word wrong.  It will also fix your capitalization and some grammar issues.  It is as if you don't need to know the rules to play the game.  Teachers like Word.  They like having their assignments typed up and handed to them.  Some even have them emailed and they correct using Word.  What happened to getting a few assignments handwritten so that you can separate the wheat from the chafe? Find out what they really know or don't know.  In my mind, that would be authentic assessment.

I am going to run the risk of sounding like an old lady, but I don't think that kids spend enough time learning grammar.  I remember lessons on it and having to do exercises on how to use a comma, paraphrase and edit a composition.  I don't believe the ELA teachers have time to do that any more. They have new curricula and brand new assessment strategies thrust upon them and they probably assume that students have learned the basics in younger grades.  Some of the work is truly cringe worthy.

I'm sure this is a topic that will be debated and discussed for ages to come, but for now that is what I think.

P.S. I have not proof-read this posting. I'm in a hurry to get to a meeting.  Maybe that's the problem? Time??????

Katie