-=> Quoting Sharon Davis to C. Lee Duckert <=-
 CLD>As a dyed-in-the-wool unschooler, I disagree.  For us, much of 
unschooling
 >means it is learner-directed, not teacher-directed.  Thus a child who
 >wishes  to use a textbook is unschooling because it is the student's choice
 >involved.   And the resources in the world involved with math facts or
 >grammar are  astonishing - which is why they are basics.  I have had my
 >eldest upset  because I was not reading aloud from a grammar book, we have
 >discussed word  origins and word order (just learned it and its are derived
 >from hit and his  and him, the h dropped off), read the books by Ruth
 >Heller about words  (Merry-Go-Round, Abook about Nouns, Many Luscious
 >Lollipops, A Book about  Adjectives, etc.) for fun  - so spelling and
 >arithmetic and etc. are just as  natural as walking and talking.
 SD> I have a question for you, you old dyed in the wool woman!
 SD> I recently went to the local curriculum fair.  One of the presenters
 SD> was the author/developer of Writing Strands.  (One writing program I am
 SD> very interested in.)  As an English teacher, he found the public school
 SD> writing program sorely lacking.  He taught his son writing but  
 SD> didn't teach him ANY grammar.   This son has developed into quite a
 SD> talented writer.  (He figured if a child could learn to talk
 SD> effectively without knowing what a verb or noun is, then he could also
 SD> write without knowing the names the parts of speech.)
 SD> Have you come across anyone who uses this approach?  Writing Strands
 SD> has received high recommendations, but is grammar *really* necessary? 
 SD> (I certainly can see the need when studying a foreign language.)
 It depends on your state and school district.  Here in michigan you must
 teach English.  So it is important to at least give them the idea.  Some
 children like my own who have learning disabilities have a very difficult
 time with writing a complete sentence.  They can pick out a verb and such
 and I don't see a real big importance in analizing all their work for verbs
 and such, but I believe it is good for them to know how to pick it out and
 what they are
 Regina
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