Morley University

When I was a kid, my mom used to joke that she had one kid learning to walk and one learning to drive at the same time, now that Charity's an aged 18 months, I'm really starting to see the role that learning plays in our lives all of time time.

I know, this is coming from a teacher, but it's true. I may have always appreciated and even loved to learn, but when I see the amount of words, phrases, and just things in general that Charity learns every day, it makes me realize what natural little learners we are from the start! Now, we've got three learners in our family, and the lessons seem to be endless. Here's a breakdown of what the Morley family is learning right now.

• Anticipating. Today when I walked into Charity's room, she was jumping on her bed. I responded by saying the "10 little monkeys" rhyme. Before I could get to the line about mama calling the doctor, Charity anticipated what was coming by saying "doctor"--she's learning to predict!
• Meditating. Upon realizing that my daughter is pretty much a carbon copy of her mother, I decided this would be a good skill to learn early in life. Now when I say, "breathe deep" she does it! She makes a big show of exhaling as well. I love it!
• Grant Writing. This one is for me. I'm working on a grant for a department on campus--getting paid. And I get to learn the process during a class I'm taking! LOVE THAT! :) 
• Parenting. This is one of those lessons that's not going to end any time soon for Aaron and me. Every day brings new challenges, especially when you have a child who is learning at a rate that far surpasses you. We've realized that we just can't move things to get Charity to stop touching them at this stage. We really have to say NO and just keep saying NO, as frustrating, repetitive, and difficult as that is.
• Association. This one is Charity's again. She's starting to really expand her memory. She remembers when we go to a certain location, and she can associate what we do there. When we go back, she's trying to repeat the same actions. She's also beginning to string words together to communicate an idea. It's exciting and scary at the same time. Seeing her communicate with me is wonderful, but I also realize that I have to start watching what I say. 
• Strength. Let's face it. The world is a pretty rough place toady. Each day, I think we all learn more and more how to cope. We learn that even when we can't be perfect, that doesn't negate the good we've done. And then we learn that there's still hope.

Have a Good Week!

 

My big girl playing with the other kids at a birthday party--another lesson learned. DON'T HOLD BACK WHEN THE PINATA BREAKS!

 

I Ain't Got no Stapler

This morning on the train to Chicago, I was reading my homework for class tonight--Assessing Written Texts. (I realize that I waited until the last minute to do my homework--but the important thing is that I got it done.) The topic was something you can't get away from if you're a writing teacher--the great debate: do we teach mechanics or critical thinking? And if we teach both, how the heck are we supposed to do that in an hour and 20 minutes? I was of the opinion that most people advocate teaching expression through writing and letting the "correctness" come naturally, that the only writing teachers who still give vocabulary and spelling tests and require students to diagram sentences have one leg in a retirement condo.

I guess I was wrong. The reading made it clear that there are still advocates of the perscriptivist way of teaching grammar and the focus on correct usage in the composition classroom. What I found interesting, however, was the fact that these fans now tend to come from other disciplines. Is this because we've been doing something wrong by focusing more on opinions, emotions, and reactions than commas and capitalization? Or is it because mosts biologists still don't seem to understand why expressing one's self would be important?

Regardless, I have to say that my position on the matter is this: content trumps context. But context is of great importance! The student who wrote me the following one-line e-mail certainly showed a lack of understanding of her audience:

"I ain't got no stapler."

In addition, when I don't correct these students' mistakes, I feel like I'm letting them down in some way. They tell me they've come from four years of high school education that amounted to pushing them through for NCLB money. They don't know why their papers are always full of red marks and stamped with a "D." If we took just a few days and focused on just that, it would be boring, but would it help. It's like I tell my husband, "If you put off cleaning for a week, you'll be unhappy for a week. If you clean now, you'll be unhappy for about two hours."

One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to teach Charity a prescriptive grammar, so she's afraid to come up with her own words and constructions that just express what she wants to say more clearly! Sometimes, you just have to tell your friend, "I'm righter than you are." More correct sounds stuffy. And more right is awkward.

But I hope I never get an "I ain't got no stapler" e-mail from her!