“Mrs. Archer, what is a predicate adjective?”
It wasn’t the question that got me in trouble. It was that I couldn’t remember the answer. And that’s bad for an English teacher.
I didn’t know an important part of what I was teaching. Oh sure, I could show the class what a good essay looked like and how to grammatically diagram a sentence, but I couldn’t remember the basic definition of a predicate adjective. That’s like, oh, fifth grade. Maybe.
So I called the person who had taught me the concept years ago—my mom. She pulled out her grammar reference book we used growing up and once she explained it to me, the concept was familiar. Predicate adjective, predicate noun. I was finally able to explain it to my student. I’ll never have to relearn that one again.
It’s a cliche, but it’s true: you’ll never know something as well as when you teach it.
My latest teaching gig is a once-a-week class for third grade girls. It’s a new experience for me as I’ve only taught older students in years past. This time, there’s a lot more giggling and a lot more hot pink. Everything they own is hot pink.
For the past two weeks, we’ve been discussing the events leading up the Civil War. We talked about the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, how slavery was a racial and economic issue for the South, and how congressional leaders were strongly divided on the issue. It was an important time for American History, and right then, I didn’t remember something.
When someone raised their hand and asked, “Were there any other reasons the South seceded other than slavery?”, I blanked. I had prepared for everything but this question. I attended a history-intensive college and took several political science courses—you’d think I’d remember the different reasons the South seceded.
But no. I babbled on for a few minutes, confusing the classroom some more. “And let’s move on to English!” To know it best, you have to teach it.
So, this weekend, I’ll be reading about the Civil War. At least I won’t have to learn what a predicate adjective is again.