Waterville club minds everyone's grammar
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WATERVILLE — Two cardboard collages are posted outside of a second-floor Latin classroom at Waterville Senior High School. They serve as the equivalents of wanted posters for misfit writers everywhere.
Waterville High School students, who have started a grammar club, have erected a Grammar Wall of Shame outside a Latin classroom. On display are more than two dozen examples of misspelled, misplaced and misused words found in everything from newspaper articles to a Maine Department of Education brochure. click to enlarge
"Catholic Church pays ex-alter boy," reads the headline of one newspaper clipping plastered to one collage.
Flanking the article are more than two dozen examples of misspelled, misplaced and misused words found in everything from newspaper articles to a Maine Department of Education brochure.
The "Grammar Wall of Shame," as the display is titled, has received a lot of attention from students and teachers since it was created last fall, Timothy Vachon, who teaches Latin in the classroom next to the posters, said.
So has the club responsible for developing and maintaining the display.
"We're actually very controversial," said Emily Theriault, 18.
Theriault, a senior at Waterville, joins a group of about nine students every Friday morning to discuss the ins and outs of the English language — and critique those whose business it is to write and speak it.
They call themselves "Young Grammarians," and they say they're making Waterville Senior High School a better place, "one word at a time."
Since the club was founded last fall, it has effected at least one change at the school, as administrators changed the title of a course from "Healthy Foods" (incorrect because the phrase implies that the "foods" in question are not sick) to "Healthful Foods," at the club's request.
Vachon said members of the club plan to correct every grammatical error in the school's course guide, and eventually edit the student handbook.
The group also contributes a grammar-advice column to the school's newspaper, and serves as a sounding board for other students who aren't sure whether "insure" or "ensure" would be the correct word to use in a given situation.
The school's resident grammarians said they also help keep their teachers grammatically correct.
"I actually caught an English teacher using (the word) 'your' incorrectly," said 16-year-old junior Ben Reed. "He said students using it incorrectly so much had rubbed off on him."
Vachon is quick to point out that the club's purpose is to foster an interest in the rules of grammar in a casual manner —not to embarrass anyone.
The club meets at 7:30 a.m. every Friday to discuss possible additions to its "Wall of Shame," the only requirements for addition to the wall is that members may only put professional work to the display.
"We're not perfect," he said. "We don't claim to be any better than anyone else ... we never criticize anyone in the school."
Vachon, who has taught Latin at the school for 34 years, has a reputation for trying to instill a sense of respect for the rules of grammar in his students.
During the Spring of 2002, some of his students jokingly suggested he start a grammar club at the school. Vachon took them up on their offer, held a meeting, and — to his surprise — about nine students attended.
And they kept coming.
"When I started the club, I thought I'd be amazed if we got two or three people," Vachon said. "We get seven, eight, or nine every week."
Although the size of the club pales in comparison to many of the school's extracurricular activities, a nine-member grammar club is extremely significant, Marie Shields said, when one considers that a respect for the subject is not high on every student's list of priorities.
Shields, chairwoman of the Middle and Secondary Education Department at the University of Maine at Farmington, said mistakes are becoming noticeable in every area of writing —from official letters to e-mail —mostly because of the way grammar is taught to grade-school students.
"We seem to be teaching (grammar) the way it was taught years ago — with the grammar books ... and that's been unsuccessful," she said.
Creating a casual atmosphere when teaching grammar, where mistakes may be discussed as they happen — like what is taking place at Waterville — is exactly what schools should aim for, Shields said.
Shields said many educators leave grammar instruction to English teachers, limiting the scope of what students learn about effective communication.
A better approach, she said, would be to integrate writing instruction into all math, science and elective courses at high schools.
"Right now it seems like a very unusual thing to ask future math and science teachers to pay attention to all areas of writing, and to hold students responsible," Shields said.
For 18-year old senior Eileen Dunn, the club provides her with an opportunity to help with the process.
And besides, Dunn said, it is nice to converse with "fellow nerds" about a subject she finds interesting.
"We're cool nerds, though," 18-year old senior Sadie Menchen said.
Elbert Aull — 861-9253
eaull@centralmaine.com