Rutgers Declares Grammar Racist

[Cow Poke]

I had an English teacher in high school who taught with an almost militant fervor. She used curriculum that we called "Programmed Grammar" (I forget the longer title) that was literally page after page after page of grammar drills, and then at the end of every chapter, you had to take a test and pass with at least an 80% or you had to do the entire chapter over again. Naturally, we students hated "PG" with a passion, but I suppose I can't complain because it did teach me to right gud.

Did you do days and days of "diagramming sentences" on the chalkboard? Subject, predicate, verb, noun, adverb, adverb, "understood"....... I can almost do that in my sleep.

[Mountain Man]

Did you do days and days of "diagramming sentences" on the chalkboard? Subject, predicate, verb, noun, adverb, adverb, "understood"....... I can almost do that in my sleep.

Uggh... yes...

[Cow Poke]

Uggh... yes...

OK, confession --- my weaknesses are commas (I use way too many) and whether or not the punctuation mark goes at the end of the sentence when it ends in a quote, or inside the quote.

OH, and after learning that you don't use a comma after the next-to-last item in a series, I got fussed at in college for NOT using a comma after the next-to-last item in a series!

Grammar certainly is not as exact as the maths.

[Mountain Man]

I'm a "comma after the second to last item" guy, and I will put the comma inside or outside the quote, depending on context.

For instance, "Petra is the best rock band ever," he said.

vs

My favorite Petra song, "Stand In The Gap", was recorded in 1988.

[mikewhitney]

OK, confession --- my weaknesses are commas (I use way too many) and whether or not the punctuation mark goes at the end of the sentence when it ends in a quote, or inside the quote.

OH, and after learning that you don't use a comma after the next-to-last item in a series, I got fussed at in college for NOT using a comma after the next-to-last item in a series!

Grammar certainly is not as exact as the maths.

Don't learn this stuff. Once you learn it one way they change the rules again.

I saw some examples where the comma is useful before the "and" but I don't remember them.

The commas I like least are when you are have multiple, obnoxious adjectives separated by commas. I think this is just a way of discouraging the use of multiple adjectives.

[KingsGambit]

Don't learn this stuff. Once you learn it one way they change the rules again.

I saw some examples where the comma is useful before the "and" but I don't remember them.

The commas I like least are when you are have multiple, obnoxious adjectives separated by commas. I think this is just a way of discouraging the use of multiple adjectives.

But they are good for the the common practice of padding your word length for writing papers. Also, supposedly, repeating the the word "the" commonly goes unnoticed and the the practice is often used to bump them up.

[Mountain Man]

But they are good for the the common practice of padding your word length for writing papers. Also, supposedly, repeating the the word "the" commonly goes unnoticed and the the practice is often used to bump them up.

tumblr_oltjbmCFsJ1sie5gfo1_1280.jpg

[kiwimac]

Rutgers Declares Grammar Racist

English Department pledges to incorporate 'critical grammar' into program

Chrissy Clark - July 24, 2020 4:00 PM

The English department at a public university declared that proper English grammar is racist.

Rutgers University's English department will change its standards of English instruction in an effort to "stand with and respond" to the Black Lives Matter movement. In an email written by department chairwoman Rebecca Walkowitz, the Graduate Writing Program will emphasize "social justice" and "critical grammar."

Walkowitz said the department would respond to recent events with "workshops on social justice and writing," "increasing focus on graduate student life," and "incorporating ‘critical grammar' into our pedagogy." The "critical grammar" approach challenges the standard academic form of the English language in favor of a more inclusive writing experience. The curriculum puts an emphasis on the variability of the English language instead of accuracy.

"This approach challenges the familiar dogma that writing instruction should limit emphasis on grammar/sentence-level issues so as to not put students from multilingual, non-standard ‘academic' English backgrounds at a disadvantage," Walkowitz said. "Instead, it encourages students to develop a critical awareness of the variety of choices available to them [with] regard to micro-level issues in order to empower them and equip them to push against biases based on ‘written' accents."

Additionally, the department said it will provide more reading to upper-level writing classes on the subjects of racism, sexism, homophobia, and related forms of "systemic discrimination."

Leonydus Johnson, a speech pathologist and libertarian activist, said the school's change makes the racist assumption that minorities cannot comprehend traditional English. Johnson called the change "insulting, patronizing, and in itself, extremely racist."

"The idea that expecting a student to write in grammatically correct sentences is indicative of racial bias is asinine," Johnson told the Washington Free Beacon. "It's like these people believe that being non-white is an inherent handicap or learning disability…. That's racism. It has become very clear to me that those who claim to be ‘anti-racist' are often the most racist people in this country."

Rutgers's new anti-racist language standard comes alongside a litany of changes at other universities. Princeton University's board of trustees voted to remove Woodrow Wilson's name from its public policy school and one of its residential colleges to denounce the former president's "racist thinking and policies." The James Madison residential college at Michigan State University is considering making a similar change. Activists at the University of Pittsburgh have called for the firing of any employee deemed racist or discriminatory by students, and the school said it will give the demands "serious consideration."

The Rutgers English department created a Committee on Bias Awareness and Prevention in 2012. In light of Black Lives Matter protests, the school has moved past bias awareness and prevention and into a focus on "decolonization." Walkowitz's email talks of "decolonizing the writing center." The department offers a specific internship titled "Decolonizing the Writing Center" to "make the writing centers more linguistically diverse."

The university and Walkowitz did not respond to requests for comment.

Us Grammar Nazis is in lots of troubles!

You do realise that is not what the article says? I would also add that Johnson's critique is wrong as well. When English is taught it is important to realise that not everyone, especially those from other cultures, starts in the same place. It is perfectly acceptable to structure the way a language is taught to ensure those folk do not get left behind.

[seer]

It is perfectly acceptable to structure the way a language is taught to ensure those folk do not get left behind.

No, it is perfectly acceptable to teach English only. It is funny, I grew up in the 60s with Blacks and Latinos (from Cuba) in my classes who learned English as well as me. And with a number of Italian immigrants who learned English just fine.

[Cow Poke]

You do realise that is not what the article says? I would also add that Johnson's critique is wrong as well. When English is taught it is important to realise that not everyone, especially those from other cultures, starts in the same place.
It is perfectly acceptable to structure the way a language is taught to ensure those folk do not get left behind.

That's not what this is about.

[Sparko]

If someone is in college they should know college level grammar. Even if they are foreign. If they don't they shouldn't be taking that level of class and should go take some remedial courses first.

Maybe they will come out with "critical math" next for people who don't know how to do math. Then people can just make up their own math. 1+5=15!