Yesterday Professor Michelle Navarre Cleary was a guest on Wisconsin Public
Radio’s The Kathleen Dunn Show.
During the hour she discussed, in short, the wrong way to teach grammar.
Many SNL students probably remember having to memorize parts
of speech, complete grammar drills, and—perhaps the worst of all—diagram
sentences. Research has shown, however, that teaching grammar before students
are allowed to actually write is
counterproductive, serving only to produce “people who are terrified to write.”
It is the rare person who steps into a writing course or
approaches a writing project completely free of anxiety. “Writing is hard,” and
“good writing is clear thinking,” Navarre Cleary explains. And sometimes, “it’s
easier to worry about where the comma goes than to really push yourself to
clarify your ideas.” But if you allow yourself to be challenged—by answering
classmates’ questions about your work, your instructor’s questions, and your
own—the grammar will follow naturally: “it’s in that effort to communicate that
people start to learn what makes sense in terms of arranging their words in
sentences.”
To listen to the full recording and hear more about why you
should give yourself permission to quiet your inner copy editor, click here.
ALSO: Don't forget the deadline to submit to the Writing Showcase is April 1st!
ALSO: Don't forget the deadline to submit to the Writing Showcase is April 1st!
