Grammar Tsars: Reteaching Educators on Grammar and Spelling

Today I stumbled across an article in The Telegraph that teachers were to be given lessons on spelling and grammar. According to the article, primary school teachers need a rehashing on spelling, punctuation, and grammar in order to improve literacy standards at their schools. So, "Grammar Tsars" have been hired to re-teach the teacher. Students will take a grammar test at the end of primary school, and "it's bad if their English teacher doesn't know basic English." Well, I'd say so. Of course, this has its critics, believing that this is an unnecessary measure and children should learn basic grammar, but not all of the intricacies of it.

This got me thinking about the teacher certification process here in the States, or even in Illinois for that matter. From my research, in Illinois, budding educators take the proper curriculum for their course of study, including courses in pedagogy at the proper age levels; engage in coursework said to prepare them for the classroom; take the basic skills test, content exams, and aptitude test; then have their practicum or student teaching. Seems to be a thorough education and training.

I looked up the requirements for passing the basic skills test (in Illinois). In reading and language arts, 79 percent of items must be correct. In math, 75 percent must be correct; and in writing, the pupil must score 8 out of 12. These evidently aren't very high standards. Sure, it's just a test and what do tests really measure, but think about what these results say. If we are trying to educate our students to higher standards, shouldn't our teachers be able to write better than an 8 out of 12? That is 67 percent... Not even passing by our own grading systems.

I think the grammar tsar, or continuing education at a bare minimum, is a necessity to educate our children to a higher level. At the same time, there is more to the issue than just poor teachers or a poor methods of scoring teachers' performances. The issue I have is that grammar and writing has lost its way in our schools if an acceptable writing score is a 67. If teachers simply don't know basic grammar, I wouldn't want him/her educating my child on how to spell or how to write. That can be prevented through the proper education and preparation in the process of becoming an educator or continuing education throughout his/her career.

As a sub, I witness every day the effects of good, educated teachers and the not-so-good teachers. I've been in classrooms where students know the differences between their, there, and they're; classrooms where students can write eloquently for their age level or construct very immature and poor sentences; and classrooms where writing has taken a backseat or students simply don't care about good grammar. It's hard telling whether or not this relates to the teacher's inability to construct proper sentences with correct grammar, but not knowing about modifiers or labeling correct parts of speech may be more of an impact than is directly evident before us.

What do you think? Should good grammar and writing be a requirement for  future educators?

Teachers to be given lessons in spelling and grammar
Illinois Basic Skills FAQs