“Grammar Ninja“

Teaching English in Appalachia can be quite a challenge, specifically in the category of grammar. Growing up hearing things like: “I seen,” instead of “I saw,” or “We was,” instead of “We were,” is an impossibility to unhear when your ear has been trained to it. It is an impenetrable wall of generations of stubborn refusal to change. “If daddy said it this way, I can say it this way.” While some of you have given up on this battle, others of you have fought this to the death.

There was one teacher in particular fully determined to fight this battle of the wills on conventions. Of all the teachers I have worked with, one of the most passionate was that of Molly Hudkins, the 7/8^th grade English teacher. She was smart. She was tough. And when it came to grammar, Mrs. Hudkins didn’t play around. She took to the wall, with a hammer and chisel. And like the Berlin wall, she declared as President Reagan, “Tear down that wall.”

When we first met, Molly asked me if I was ok with covering the reading portion of our ELA block. We shared the same group of kids. My kids would go to her for English and Grammar, and her kids would come to me for Reading. At this time, I was more comfortable with Reading. I found it more creative and fun to teach. Who wouldn’t?  It was a no-brainer.

Now Molly Hudkins was well respected by her students and all the staff at Glad Middle School. She taught with a fiery passion which was infectious.  Because we shared a wall, I could often hear her teaching on my planning period.

One day while grading, I began to hear what can only be described as a Sunday morning sermon.

The reverend Hudkins steps up to her podium to begin her sermon, hammering away on grammar conventions with fire and brimstone. 

“Now I know, you want to argue with me… and tell me I’m wrong. But this is correct English. Just because mom and dad and your aunt and uncle might say it this way doesn’t mean it’s correct.” She continued preaching grammar convention with the passion and fury a Baptist preacher, and may God have mercy on your soul if you go against the reverend Hudkins. One thing was sure, every student in earshot was going to know the ten commandments of grammar. All that was missing was the organ music and background choir interjecting “Amen” and “Hallelujah!”

While there was no choir or amen shouting, the reverend Hudkins was determined to chip away at the wall of the Appalachian dialect. Day in and day out, the reverend preached on the sins of broken grammar rules, and quite effectively I might add. Many a student shared how grateful they were for her dedication to her skilled instruction of the English language after they had moved on from middle school because simply put, they needed it. In fact, she became affectionately named “grammar ninja.”

For me, it was easy to forgo this battle and to defer to the professional and take the easy road. She was the expert on the subject.  She could cover it, right? However, it has become acceptable to let many of these battles go, because there are so many battles to fight these days.

While the battles we face in education are many, if we just leave these battles to the next one beside us, we won’t get the job done. It will take all of us to tear down mindsets which inhibit learning. How many of us have beaten our head against the wall of resistance to learning in some way?  We have ALL faced it to some degree or another. (Let the congregation say amen!)

Many have lost their passion, and fight because they have not seen the results immediately or someone else has left the battle for you to fight alone. But as President Reagan declared in Berlin, “This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.” The power of the declaration President Reagan gave in Berlin, was not his speech but the pushback from the people who together in unity chipped at this wall until it was demolished. Thousands and tens of thousands hammered and knocked on the wall with picks and saws and even bulldozers. 
If you have a bulldozer, use it. If you have a hammer, use it. If you only have a pick, use it! Every tool is needed, and every hand is necessary to bring down the wall of indifference in education. Just use the tools at your disposal no matter how big or small. Use it to the best of your ability because this wall must fall. And dear teacher, “This wall WILL fall.”

*All names mentioned are pre-authorized by the individual.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
³ … a time to break down, and a time to build up;
Ecclesiastes 3:3 KJV

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If you know today’s highlighted teacher give her a shout out! If you have worked with her, or she has taught you at some point, let her know what her work has meant to you. She would love to hear from you.