The New Grammar

[porphyry]

So I was reviewing some of Andrew's first grade work the other day. Just so everyone knows, we no longer have nouns (to say nothing of pronouns), adjectives (to say nothing about adverbs), and verbs (to say nothing of intransitive verbs). We now have, in the same order, the naming part, the describing part, and the doing part.

In other news, Sylvia has moved her kittens--perfectly natural instinct to throw off predators, I suppose--only this time I have no idea where she stashed the little buggers. I told everyone to listen up for pathetic mewling. I don't know why it's so important to me to know where they are. Me, a predator?

Comments

[filialucis]

You have my undying gratitude.

Is my impression (admittedly garnered at second and even third hand) correct that distressingly large parts of the modern educational system appear to be working on the assumption that modern children no longer have much in the way of usable minds? Looking at modern Latin textbooks and instrumental methods and their equivalents from a century or so ago, I get the impression that today's publications are bending over backwards to avoid the necessity of inflicting on their readers anything resembling, you know, knowledge...