My grandson comes home from the sixth grade and says, " Grandpa, could you give me some examples of helping verbs ? " My mind begins to race but it is going no where. I've heard of this before but just what is a helping verb ? Quickly doing a Google search I'm reminded of the proper response. There are twenty three helping verbs in the English language. And a list of them followed. Guess that explains the popularity of the show are you smarter than a fifth grader ?
That lead me to thinking about the things you learn in school. The age old question. Why do I need to know this ? The question is still relevant. Why would I need to know what a helping verb is ? I'm 59 years old and this is the first time since I was in grade school that I've been asked that question. Never have I had an employer tell me, diagram that sentence for me. In all fairness though, I have never held a position were writing or composing sentences was part of the job. Some things have stuck with me. I try to avoid the dreaded run on sentence. And those pesky dangling participles ! One should certainly be cautious in their use. Conjunction Junction got me straightened out on that grammatical structure. Other areas are a bit foggy.
I can see the usefulness of history. Math skills are essential and reading of course. The three R's. Some of the curriculum is just fluff. That's what I think. It is just that teachers want to teach. Teachers also want to show off their knowledge so they started adding this other stuff in. It's the old story, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with " B *#$%$ T ". Besides we have to fill the whole day don't we ?
One could argue that all knowledge is valuable. I can't find fault with that statement. The thing is, knowledge is only valuable if you need it. Just as money can't buy you happiness, knowledge ( in some areas ) can be useless. So just why do we learn some of this stuff ? Is it to prepare us for the great trivia game of life ? Or is it some kind of cruel joke ? Insist we learn this information whose usefulness is questionable ? Is it just so our children or grandchildren can ask us questions about things we no longer remember ? Is that the joke ?
What a cruel twist of fate. I'll admit English composition and grammar weren't my best subjects. I'll admit to perhaps not giving those subjects my full attention. I never expected to be asked again, which word in this sentence is an adverb ?
I found the answer and shared it with my Grandson. Turns out he already knew and was testing me. Funny stuff. I just smiled at him and reminded him of the importance of knowing about this stuff. I assured him that I did know this at one time but it had slipped my mind. Maybe, just maybe that is why this stuff is taught today. I had to learn it and so do you ! And then we'll see if you can remember it forty some years later.
That lead me to thinking about the things you learn in school. The age old question. Why do I need to know this ? The question is still relevant. Why would I need to know what a helping verb is ? I'm 59 years old and this is the first time since I was in grade school that I've been asked that question. Never have I had an employer tell me, diagram that sentence for me. In all fairness though, I have never held a position were writing or composing sentences was part of the job. Some things have stuck with me. I try to avoid the dreaded run on sentence. And those pesky dangling participles ! One should certainly be cautious in their use. Conjunction Junction got me straightened out on that grammatical structure. Other areas are a bit foggy.
I can see the usefulness of history. Math skills are essential and reading of course. The three R's. Some of the curriculum is just fluff. That's what I think. It is just that teachers want to teach. Teachers also want to show off their knowledge so they started adding this other stuff in. It's the old story, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with " B *#$%$ T ". Besides we have to fill the whole day don't we ?
One could argue that all knowledge is valuable. I can't find fault with that statement. The thing is, knowledge is only valuable if you need it. Just as money can't buy you happiness, knowledge ( in some areas ) can be useless. So just why do we learn some of this stuff ? Is it to prepare us for the great trivia game of life ? Or is it some kind of cruel joke ? Insist we learn this information whose usefulness is questionable ? Is it just so our children or grandchildren can ask us questions about things we no longer remember ? Is that the joke ?
What a cruel twist of fate. I'll admit English composition and grammar weren't my best subjects. I'll admit to perhaps not giving those subjects my full attention. I never expected to be asked again, which word in this sentence is an adverb ?
I found the answer and shared it with my Grandson. Turns out he already knew and was testing me. Funny stuff. I just smiled at him and reminded him of the importance of knowing about this stuff. I assured him that I did know this at one time but it had slipped my mind. Maybe, just maybe that is why this stuff is taught today. I had to learn it and so do you ! And then we'll see if you can remember it forty some years later.
My mother was a teacher and a stickler for proper grammar. And its a curse! LOL
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