While working on my master's degree, I was involved in a conversation about the importance of teaching grammar with the head of the English department at a prestigious middle school in the Long Beach Unified School District. His attitude was that he didn't like to spend a lot of time teaching grammar because "...grammar wasn't that important in the communication process." He preferred asking his students to allow their ideas to flow naturally without the worry of all those pesky grammatical rules.

My sarcastic nature got the better of me, and I decided to illustrate the absurd by being absurd. My reply to him was, "Grammar don't got nothin' to do with communicatin' good?" He got my point.

We both agreed that there is a time and place for everything. It may not be the best idea for a student to worry about good grammar while writing a rough draft. However, the ability to recognize and use good grammar certainly has its place in the writing process.

Real World Application

I am reminded of this incident quit often. When teachers underestimate the importance of good grammar, it can have serious consequences. I've learned this fact very clearly as I encounter adult after adult who lacks even the most basic of grammar skills. Here's a good illustration:

I have spent more than a year putting together a website to help put out the newsletter you are reading right now. It was amazing how many companies wanted me to use their products. Data base companies, web site hosts, merchant account providers, marketing consultants, and more all wanted me to use their services. Most of these companies providing Internet services are small businesses run by people who have terrific technological skills, but have somehow graduated from school with hideous grammatical skills.

Trying to read the sales literature from many of these companies was painful. Haven't any of these people ever heard of a comma? How about capitalizing proper nouns? These grammatical rules are in place for a reason. They help the communication process along.

Even the company that hosts my webpage makes me work hard just to understand basic ideas. While putting together the website, their technicians offer help through on-line chat. Fragment sentences, run-on sentences, not indenting new main ideas have turned problems with quick solutions into marathon projects. Just trying to decode what they're saying is a challenge in itself.

In fairness to these many wonderful people who have helped me with my website, they do offer terrific products and services. How much better would they be if they just had a better grasp of the English language? I wonder how much business they lose just because of the poor image their bad grammar sends.

For the Teacher

"Grammar don't got nothin' to do with communicatin' good." I said these words as a joke, but they've come back to haunt me. While I teach, I see my students in their future occupations. Some will be doctors, police officers, truck drivers, etc... It's a sad fact that many people will judge their intelligence based on how well they communicate. Which of my students will be held back in their jobs because of this? Which of my students will lose confidence in high school because of bad grades and not go to college?

I am well aware that there are thousands of rules that will fade from our students' memories. This is why it is even more important to teach grammar and punctuation rules and force our students to internalize them immediately. Failure to do this will put too many students at a great disadvantage in life.

I could spend a few paragraphs here giving a shameless plug to Standards Based Grammar, but I won't. If you would like information about a strong grammar program for grades three through eight, go to CreateBetterWriters.com for more information. These grammar books give teachers the worksheets and assessments to make sure that every grammar standard required for their grade level is thoroughly covered.

Whatever grammar program you use, please don't underestimate the importance of teaching good grammar. It will be a valuable skill throughout the rest of our students' lives.

David Dye is a classroom teacher with more than 20 years of experience. He has his Master's Degree in Education, and his writing curriculum is in use all over the world. He currently has 16 books in publication with three different publishers. Free writing tips, worksheets, and curriculum can be found at his website: http://createbetterwriters.com. His most popular books are How To Teach the Five Paragraph Essay, Standards Based Grammar (Available for grades 3-8, The Complete Writing Program, and Writing Tricks Plus.