or even eliminates errors, is the most powerful and misunderstood. Conse-
quently, it warrants special consideration.
Grammar and Writing
Any principled discussion of grammar and writing necessarily must consider a
number of factors associated with writing instruction, a topic that could easily
fill an entire book. What follows cannot possibly be comprehensive but covers
some of the central issues.
First, it is important to recognize that our approach to teaching writing has
changed very little since the first composition classes were offered at Harvard
in 1874. The Harvard model was adopted quickly at colleges across the coun-
try, and high schools with any ambition of getting their graduates admitted to
institutions of higher learning had to follow suit. As noted in the previous chap-
ter, this model is predicated on the idea that students are empty headed, so the
focus of instruction is on the structure, or form, of writing.
Today, labeling students empty headed is not acceptable or tolerated. Never-
theless, the writing curriculum in most schools treats them as though they are.
The modern application of the Harvard model is congruent with two powerful
beliefs in English education. The first is that the study of literature does not in-
volve content beyond plot summaries and character descriptions. Instead, it
emphasizesreactionsto literature. The second is that self-esteem should be be-
stowed rather than earned and that negative evaluations are at odds with the
goal of enhancing students’ sense of worth. As a result, our language arts
classes typically focus on personal experience or reaction papers.
This approach does not require any attention to or assessment of content be-
cause one student’s reaction to a reading assignment cannot be judged as being any
better than another’s. The same principle applies to personal experiences. Every-
thing is relative. There is no “right” or “wrong” in self-expressive writing—there is
only the expression of true feeling. It also has the perceived benefit of helping to
equalize evaluations by removing a significant criterion from assessment.^5 As
Haussamen, Benjamin, Kolln, and Wheeler (2003) noted, “We’re not comfortable
encouraging students to be original and authentic one minute and then assigning
them exercises in sentence structure the next” (p. xi). This sentiment is so strong
that even after identifying the problem, Haussamen et al. could not address the
probability that the emphasis on originality and authenticity in our public schools
is profoundly misplaced. Instead, we have to turn to a keener observer, David
TEACHING GRAMMAR 23
(^5) See Williams (2003a) for fuller discussion of the Harvard model and its influence on contemporary
writing instruction.