On the Efficacy of Diagramming

None of my teachers ever taught diagramming. So why, now that I adjunct, do I force this cruelty into my classroom? Every semester students ask this same question, and usually get a dirty look from me. Next time, I'll just give them the URL to this blog.

The most visceral reason for me to teach this torture is simply because I love it. When I have the opportunity to diagram - to turn a jumble of words into some semblence of sense - I get an elated feeling. I imagine most people feel the same way when considering a day at the spa. My love of diagramming does not justify forcing this technique on students, though. This passion only makes it easier to continue despite the obstacles.

Diagramming helps students turn instinctive language into visible patterns. It lets them use several part of their brain, which will in turn help them remember what they learn by demanding the formation of long-term dendrites, or some such.

To diagram, a student must also be able to recognize the basic parts of speech. They must be able to recognize when other parts of speech (verbs, adjectives, etc.) are acting as nouns, and vice versa. The functioning of language, and the great variety of formations become available as the student understands how English works.

Learning a new technique requires dedication from both teacher and student. By bringing this new idea into the classroom the students are quickly separated into those willing to learn, and those who think they already know everything.

By diagramming sentences, a student can also learn to recognize the value of simplicity. The student can see that shorter sentences often make more sense, and they come to recognize when phrases do not fit, or do not serve a purpose. If properly accepted and used, a student can also see when a sentence is incomplete; a diagram requires both subject and predicate and certain conventions if these essentials are compounded.

Diagramming can also help elucidate difficult punctuation. Clauses and phrases become distinguishable, and suddenly the use of a comma has a more visual interpretation.

I will continue teaching this skill to every composition class, at whatever level. I'll continue enjoying it.

New Children and Wishes

Frances Hardinge's characters in Well Witched think in very mature patterns, but such a style could hardly be criticized. For Ryan to instantly understand an adult's innermost meanings is hardly more fantastical than for he and his friends to be herded by sentient-seeming shopping carts.

Contemporary children must surely believe, from their observations of grown-up media, that acting like a petulant teen is appropriate for all ages. These same children might have some difficulty relating to Ryan and Chelle, but I found the change of attitude in Well Witched both haunting and refreshing.

Childrens' books seem very much en vogue at the moment. It would be a shame if those mini-van mama groupies missed this brilliant opportunity for a book as dark and compelling as Garth Nix's The Ragwitch or Suzanne's Collins's Gregor the Overlander.