The Importance of Grammar

“We don’t have time to teach grammar.” Thus responded an elementary level teacher to a mother’s inquiry about her son’s poorly written composition. When the parent asked why no corrections appeared on the assignment, the teacher explained that grammar wasn’t a priority because it doesn’t appear on the Connecticut Mastery Test. Is this an acceptable response?
This situation is not confined to one school, one grade level, or even one district. Many students are not routinely schooled in the grammatical constructs that can help them to improve their writing. In fact, most students don’t realize the importance of coherent writing until they encounter the “dreaded” college application essay. They suddenly become aware that their writing identifies them. They learn that depending on the “grammar checker” on their computer is insufficient. They want to set themselves apart from the other applicants, and the most effective means of accomplishing that goal is through a truly excellent essay. Unfortunately, many students arrive at this realization too late.
Ironically, many students who study a foreign language are more familiar with the grammar of that language than that of their native tongue. While they may be able to conjugate a verb in Spanish or French, they are at a loss to do so in English. How can anyone write coherently if he cannot identify the essential components of a sentence? How can a writer refine his writing if he doesn’t have the tools?
Grammar needs to be an essential component of the curriculum from the time a student can read until he graduates from high school. Instead of focusing on “creativity” and “inventive spelling,” the curriculum should include grammar lessons that require analysis and development of good writing techniques. Holistic scoring is useless for the implementation of good writing habits. Students need to learn the “how” and the “why” of parts of speech, sentence structure, and mechanics in order to become capable writers. Creativity may be important, but it must be secondary to the development of a strong grammatical foundation.