A Purpose for the Subject of English
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s something we do all the time. The first time I got structured instruction on how to breathe was when I was learning to play the flute in band.
The Flute Player by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642
courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago,
Clarence Buckingham Collection;
Amanda S. Johnson and Marion Livingston Endowment
My breathing instruction continued while I was in high school chorus.
Soprano members of a choir at the Bach festival
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, May 1944
Photo by Howard R. Hollem,
courtesy Library of Congress
I got breathing lessons again when Ray and I took natural childbirth classes while I was expecting John.
Nurse gives instructions and demonstrations
during prenatal clinic, Schriever, Louisiana, June 1940,
Photo by Marion Post Wolcott,
courtesy Library of Congress
Several years ago, it struck me that the English classes I had in school were a lot like breathing.
A class in freshman English
at Iowa State College. Ames, Iowa, May 1942
photo by Jack Delano,
courtesy Library of Congress
The subject of English is all about communicating, and communicating has two parts:
- Taking in the thoughts of others and
- Revealing our own.
Reading literature to take in the thoughts of others is the breathing in part of English. Communicating through writing is the breathing out part. In the context of homeschooling, I thought of the breathing out part of English as:
- Grammar
- Handwriting (Yes, I think cursive is an important skill.)
- Creative writing
- Research papers
- Letter writing
- Journaling
I may be forgetting some but remember including those in our homeschool. The literature we “breathe in” impacts what we “breathe out” in communication. One way we can watch over our children’s hearts is to be purposeful about what literature our children “breathe in” so that what they breathe out honors God.
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Call me weird, but I always enjoyed grammar. Even watching Mrs. Landrum diagram sentences on the blackboard in the basement of Ashland City Elementary School when I was in 7th and 8th grades was fun to me.
However, I was a homeschool mama before I realized just how practical the subject of English can be. As I said, it’s all about communication and that is a subject near to the heart of God. These words of Paul to the Ephesians are a wonderful course description for the breathing out part of English. It speaks to the wholesomeness of our words and the impact of our words on all the people Jesus told us to love as we love ourselves.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth,
only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment,
so that it will give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29