Cursive writing

[carol machulski]

There were penmanship lessons back in the day and I still send handwritten letters & notes even if they are in a preprinted card. Lately it seems I'm doing this a lot for friends' whose pets have died but I always try to write something personal. Now it seems some school curriculum are deleting penmanship lessons on the grounds that the kids use computers for their written work. So what are they going to do in a blackout that lasts for more than a few hours or if they are stranded in an area with no computers or electricity? Some places are lucky to get clean water to drink never mind to provide electricity and others have no access to batteries. I don't think that cursive or printed writing is obsolete. Opinions anyone?       

[Eaglewoman]

Was at the library today for a book discussion and the leader was telling us that her friend is a teacher and was looking for a book to teach cursive, because they no longer have them for schools and she wanted her class to learn.

[carol machulski]

I wonder if this also applies to learning how to type since most computer keyboards are very similar to a typewriter's. I still have a basic typing text and have several times thought of dumping it except for the thought that it  may not be absolete. 

[Leftygrl]

There are clearly generational differences when we grew up to today's students.  Many (if any) have never addressed an envelope let alone mailed a letter.

Beloit College puts out a Mindset List each fall.  It's rather interesting.

The Mindset List for the Class of 2017

For this generation of entering college students, born in 1995, Dean Martin, Mickey Mantle, and Jerry Garcia have always been dead.

1. Eminem and LL Cool J could show up at parents’ weekend.
2. They are the sharing generation, having shown tendencies to share everything, including possessions, no matter how personal.
3. GM means food that is Genetically Modified.
4. As they started to crawl, so did the news across the bottom of the television screen.
5. “Dude” has never had a negative tone.
6. As their parents held them as infants, they may have wondered whether it was the baby or Windows 95 that had them more excited.
7. As kids they may well have seen Chicken Run but probably never got chicken pox.
8. Having a chat has seldom involved talking.
9. Gaga has never been baby talk.
10. They could always get rid of their outdated toys on eBay.
11. They have known only two presidents.
12. Their TV screens keep getting smaller as their parents’ screens grow ever larger.
13. PayPal has replaced a pen pal as a best friend on line.
14. Rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Skype accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car.
15. The U.S. has always been trying to figure out which side to back in Middle East conflicts.
16. A tablet is no longer something you take in the morning.
17. Threatening to shut down the government during Federal budget negotiations has always been an anticipated tactic.
18. Growing up with the family dog, one of them has worn an electronic collar, while the other has toted an electronic lifeline.
19. Plasma has never been just a bodily fluid.
20. The Pentagon and Congress have always been shocked, absolutely shocked, by reports of sexual harassment and assault in the military.
21. Spray paint has never been legally sold in Chicago.
22. Captain Janeway has always taken the USS Voyager where no woman or man has ever gone before.
23. While they've grown up with a World Trade Organization, they have never known an Interstate Commerce Commission.
24. Courts have always been ordering computer network wiretaps.
25. Planes have never landed at Stapleton Airport in Denver.
26. Jurassic Park has always had rides and snack bars, not free-range triceratops and velociraptors.
27. Thanks to Megan's Law and Amber Alerts, parents have always had community support in keeping children safe.
28. With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address.
29. Java has never been just a cup of coffee.
30. Americans and Russians have always cooperated better in orbit than on earth.
31. Olympic fever has always erupted every two years.
32. Their parents have always bemoaned the passing of precocious little Calvin and sarcastic stuffy Hobbes.
33. In their first 18 years, they have watched the rise and fall of Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez.
34. Yahoo has always been looking over its shoulder for the rise of "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.”
35. Congress has always been burdened by the requirement that they comply with the anti-discrimination and safety laws they passed for everybody else to follow.

36. The U.S. has always imposed economic sanctions against Iran.
37. The Celestine Prophecy has always been bringing forth a new age of spiritual insights.
38. Smokers in California have always been searching for their special areas, which have been harder to find each year.
39. They aren’t surprised to learn that the position of Top Spook at the CIA is an equal opportunity post. 
40. They have never attended a concert in a smoke-filled arena.
41. As they slept safely in their cribs, the Oklahoma City bomber and the Unabomber were doing their deadly work.
42. There has never been a national maximum speed on U.S. highways.
43. Don Shula has always been a fine steak house.
44. Their favorite feature films have always been largely, if not totally, computer generated.
45. They have never really needed to go to their friend’s house so they could study together.
46. They have never seen the Bruins at Boston Garden, the Trailblazers at Memorial Coliseum, the Supersonics in Key Arena, or the Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum.
47. Dayton, Ohio, has always been critical to international peace accords.
48. Kevin Bacon has always maintained six degrees of separation in the cinematic universe.
49. They may have been introduced to video games with a new Sony PlayStation left in their cribs by their moms.
50. A Wiki has always been a cooperative web application rather than a shuttle bus in Hawaii.
51. The Canadian Football League Stallions have always sung Alouette in Montreal after bidding adieu to Baltimore.
52. They have always been able to plug into USB ports
53. Olestra has always had consumers worried about side effects.
54. Washington, D.C., tour buses have never been able to drive in front of the White House.
55. Being selected by Oprah’s Book Club has always read “success.”
56. There has never been a Barings Bank in England.
57. Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing.
58. New York’s Times Square has always had a splash of the Magic Kingdom in it.
59. Bill Maher has always been politically incorrect.
60. They have always known that there are “five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes" in a year.


[carol machulski]

Remember, don't sweat the small stuff Steve!

[Grandma Helen]

I think it's a shame that schools are talking about not teaching cursive writing.  I remember years ago learning it and being so happy when we learned up the grown up way to write.  I have a friend who has Parkinson's and can't write any more.  It's devastating to him.  I told him one day that they are talking about not teaching cursive.  He can't understand why they would do that.  If the kids get through school and never learn it,  I wonder if a day will come when they wish they knew how to write.  My 8  year old grandson is so happy that they are learning it in 3rd grade.  I think it's sad!

[Kim]

I love writing, I love paper, I love pens and still write letters and glad I grew up in the time I DID. HOWEVER, I am 48 years old and as an adult, I was never ONCE  "required" to write in CURSIVE except to sign my name of course.  With all the things a kid has to learn JUST to get through elementary school, at this point, I think it's a waste of time. If they learn to sign their names, let's face it...that's about all they need these days.

 

[Grandma Helen]

Kim, I kind of agree with you, but it kills me to think that they won't even be able to read a note from their parents or grandparents.  My 8 year old grandson is learning it now and he's so excited. 

[Kim]

Cursive was taught because it was absolutely essential that kids KNEW how to write because that would be their means of communication. Its just sadly gotten to the point where they truly DON'T need to know cursive for any reason. I love to write in cursive and I DO when I write in general for whatever reason for "my own sake" but I am a caregiver and I need to write notes for old people with fading eyesight, nurses, other caregivers, etc and I have to make sure I PRINT very neatly to get very important instructions across. Everyone has their own cursive style and generally its NOT neat and legible!

Schools traditionally taught a class for cursive which might last 30-60 minutes. And then they went home to practice. These days, the kids have so much other stuff that's important and discipline and other interruptions take up so much time that in a 6 hour school day, kids are only getting about 3-4 hours of quality instruction. I'd rather them teach these kids to speak and SPELL which has gone by the wayside in recent years.