Hello, I am beginning two graduate courses for my master's degree tonight, but I am thinking that it would be too much to manage as a first-year teacher. I am thinking about dropping one of the courses, but I am not sure which one to drop. The two courses are advanced grammar and coming of age stories. The books for the stories course look great and I think the content will be applicable to my 9th and 10th grade students, but the grammar course intrigues me, too. I consider myself a pretty decent writer, but I have a basic understanding of how the English language actually works. Do you think it is necessary for a high school English teacher to know how to diagram sentences and identify the complex components of a sentence? Do you, yourself, know how to do this? Thank you.
I'm not going to lie: it hurts my heart that an English teacher wouldn't know the value of a solid grasp of English grammar.
Advanced grammar was a requirement for my degree, and yes, I absolutely think it's important for an English teacher. Otherwise, what's the point of the degree? A degree in a field shows that you're gaining expertise in that field. Grammar is essential to understanding our language.
Do you have to take them both no matter what? I'd take the stories one personally because I'd feel more confident and interested. I'd save a course like grammar for the summer.
I would say that one of the best classes I've ever taken since I became a teacher was a grammar course.
Consider these sentences: Having just waxed the floor, the banana peel was more than usually dangerous. Please refer that question to Tim or I for more information. Explain what's wrong with each and how to fix it, and we can tell you whether you need that grammar course.
That would be asking a lot of a banana peel. The person speaking the second sentence should be a guest on the show Big Brother; they seem to love saying, '...refer that question to Tim or I...'
Take the grammar course. It is paramount that English teachers have a firm grasp of the language they teach. DO you work in a state that follows common core? If so, you will need to teach grammar.
