It matters to see/read/hear the content ahead of the mistakes in spelling or sentence structure.

Some of the best writing in history is by individuals who cater to their spoken dialects, giving voice to grammatically “incorrect” usage deliberately, and powerfully.Īccuracy is not more critical than power in writing. It’s great that any of us can identify typos and mistakes in published writing, but that skill doesn’t make anyone inherently superior as a human being. This is the attitude that curbs risk-taking in writing. This attitude is the one from which kids shrink. When we put presentation of the writing ahead of the content, we are paying attention to manners ahead of the person. When people prioritize grammar and pride themselves on a flawless understanding of the system, however, their corrections can produce feelings of insecurity, fear, and even anger which work against the free flow of ideas needed to write well. The worst side of grammar instruction, though, is the way it creates snobbery in/condescension toward writing. Enhancing that skill through an understanding of grammar is fine (good, necessary at some point), but it is no substitute for the writing voice. Native speakers are already quite skilled in sentence construction. Likewise, in writing, creative story-telling, inspired vision, quality vocabulary, and masterful recreation of facts does not come from understanding the structure of a sentence. Mechanics in sports enhance talent and contribute to skill, but they do not replace hunger to play, commitment, the willingness to risk, and the energy to win!

Knowing how your language functions is fabulous! It’s like knowing the mechanics of a sport-talent gets you a good distance, but mastering the mechanics takes you further, still.īut if you started teaching sports through mechanical perfection, and never let your kids play the game until they showed mastery of the mechanics for any given position, you’d not see much interest in athletics.

Studies don’t show that grammar instruction is bad or wrong-only that the systems of grammar instruction used in traditional education have had a deleterious effect on the freedom of self-expression children feel when asked to write (from scratch- original writing).Ī grasp of grammar can be fascinating and useful to anyone interested in the systems of language.

Brave writer grammar