by Jack Handey
There are cockroaches in Mexico big enough to own property.
Cordelia ,'Lessons'
Natter 47: My Brilliance Is Wasted On You People
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Tom Scola - Oct 23, 2006 4:06:38 am PDT #4871 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Dana - Oct 23, 2006 4:07:10 am PDT #4872 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
Signed, A Victim of a Liberal Late 20th Century Education.
But clearly not a victim of Catholic grade school.
Zenkitty - Oct 23, 2006 4:08:36 am PDT #4873 of 10001
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.
We diagrammed sentences when I was in elementary school, which was the early 70s. I think it went away shortly after that. I never studied grammar in high school at all.
vw bug - Oct 23, 2006 4:11:36 am PDT #4874 of 10001
Mostly lurking...
I really wanted to take a college grammar course, but UMB doesn't offer one. My community college in Chicago did, and it was supposed to be a fabulous class. Unfortunately, there was no time to take it before moving.
I did diagram sentences in elementary school, but probably wouldn't do a very job of it anymore.
megan walker - Oct 23, 2006 4:14:10 am PDT #4875 of 10001
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
The return of grammar
Hallelujah!
I don't care that my students don't know how to diagram a sentence. I do care that almost all of them don't know the difference between an adjective and an adverb. Or that, yes, the subjunctive does exist in English.
Because it is extremely difficult to teach a foreign language when student don't even know English grammar.
Sue - Oct 23, 2006 4:20:59 am PDT #4876 of 10001
hip deep in pie
But clearly not a victim of Catholic grade school.
It was technically a public school, but it had been started by my Church so they still had nuns teaching there, and I was prepared for the sacraments (communion, 1st confession (is that a sacrament?) and confirmation) during class time.
Dana - Oct 23, 2006 4:23:48 am PDT #4877 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
Oh, the nuns fell down on your education, then! No diagramming of sentences, my goodness. Did they at least throw erasers at you?
Cashmere - Oct 23, 2006 4:29:55 am PDT #4878 of 10001
Now tagless for your comfort.
I had a English teacher in the seventh grade who told my advanced English class that diagramming sentences was for babies--we were too old for it and she promised we'd never diagram another sentence. And we never did.
She didn't neglect our grammer. She concentrated on it in our writing. She wasn't a young, new teacher, either. She was ancient and verging on retirement but she was very progressive in her teaching style.
From that point in my education, I adored ever single English teacher I had--from middle school on through college.
Sue - Oct 23, 2006 4:30:52 am PDT #4879 of 10001
hip deep in pie
Did they at least throw erasers at you?
No! These were groovy loving 70's nuns. I only had one nun, Sr. Morrison, in grade 6. (There were only 2 nuns left at the school by the time I got there.) She did occasionally box an ear, but no erasers, no rulers.
My mother went to a Catholic boarding school for a year, (and regualr old non boarding Catholic school the rest of the time) and is still afraid of nuns.
flea - Oct 23, 2006 4:35:34 am PDT #4880 of 10001
information libertarian
I (born 1972) have never diagrammed a sentence. I know what it is from reading Laura Ingalls Wilder, though.
Somehow I picked up a lot of grammar before I got to foreign languages. But there's nothing like studying Latin and Greek to make you thoroughly aware of the parts of speech, plus verb tenses you never thought anyone would need...