Carroll County's English teachers are dusting off their grammar books as part of the school system's effort to bolster students' writing and reading skills.
For nearly four decades, grammar instruction was discouraged in school systems across the nation, as researchers asserted that the stringent rules robbed students of their creativity.
But in a back-to-basics move, school officials are emphasizing the need for students to learn grammar as the key to developing strong writing skills.
"Students need to have the type of skills for written communication that are going to keep people from judging them inaccurately," said Brian Wienholt, supervisor of middle school reading and language arts. "If students have poor grammatical skills on resumes or applications, people will judge them as lacking intelligence. Unfortunately, that's the reality."
'The new grammar'
English teachers, who gathered recently for a professional development session on grammar instruction, learned about "teaching the new grammar," a concept that calls for integrating grammar with reading and writing exercises.
The county's effort, being piloted this year, will stress that students learn the structure of language as a means of improving writing and critical reading skills.
The new initiative, at least in part, stems from community sentiment that students are graduating with weak writing skills. Residents - including area business representatives - have bent the ear of schools Superintendent Charles I. Ecker on the subject.
"Some in the business community say that sometimes they come across graduates who are weak in reading and writing," Ecker said. "We need to do more with grammar. ... It's one of our priorities."
Other factors fueling this renewed interest in grammar include parents' concerns that writing standards have been slipping over the years, and that the Maryland High School Assessment English exam and the new SAT test each have grammar components, Wienholt said.
Changes in opinions
In May, the school board adopted a writing policy that stressed the inclusion of grammar instruction.
"The Board of Education recognizes that grammatically correct writing is essential to student success in school, in the workplace, and in the larger world," according to the board's policy statement. "Teachers shall provide content-specific, explicit writing instruction so that all students will learn to write and write to learn."
