Tea at Trianon: Teaching Grammar

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Teaching Grammar

Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus:

Yes, I know this may sound far-fetched. You can, however, have a child that is an advanced writer but lags behind in grammar structure. A child or an adult may clearly communicate his thoughts but may not be aware of proper tenses. Too, roles can be flipped. For example, I know people with a linguistic background who can make my writing shine in no time. Their eye to detail is unmatched and I love that about them. However, they would also be the first one to admit that knowing technical details doesn’t always mean that you can write well or with confidence. Creating worthy and valuable writing content is a learned skill. I often wonder if people with a strong English background fear writing less or more than somebody that does not have a strong grammar background? It still intrigues me. (Read more.)