The Curse of Cursive
Albert Einstein once said something like, "The world can't be changed without changing our thinking." Like most stuff Einstein said, he was spot on. You could say he was kind of an Einstein.
I've heard an unconfirmed rumor that cursive writing, "adult writing," as the Girl calls it, will no longer be taught in elementary. I don't know if this is true; however, the fact that no lessons have been included in her curriculum up to this point makes me think it is so.
This is disappointing, although I do understand the rationale.
We are in a technological age. Computers, tablets, smart phones... these gadgets are not a fad. They are not going away. Considering the pressure teachers are under with the "no child left behind" act, it does seem a massive waste of time to be teaching students something they have no practical use for; cursive handwriting is no longer considered essential.
Yes, it is a dying art form. I can see a day when cursive handwriting will be taught as an elective course, like pottery or poetry. Perhaps it already is?
To be honest, I think it is more important to focus on proper spelling and grammar. Take a quick look at Facebook, Twitter or any other social media and it is astonishing how many people think definitely has an "a" and tomorrow has two "m's". There, their, they're.... then, than.... improper apostrophes... and a million other violations of the simple rules of grammar and/or spelling... this, friends, it is my #1 pet peeve.
But before I become holier than thou, it is time to knock myself down a few notches.
You see, the Girl desperately wants to learn how to write cursively (I wish she had as much enthusiasm for math), so over spring break I decided to begin teaching her the very basics.
I started by simply showing her how to write the alphabet in cursive. I must admit it has been years -- yes, years -- since I've done so (which pretty much confirms the aforementioned rationale for no longer teaching cursive in school) and I had to stop when I got to capital "Q."
I freely admit I was stuck. I had completely forgotten how to cursively write a capital "Q."
It's true. And I'm not proud.
I finally had to look up the proper formation of "Q."
Of course I remembered as soon as I saw it. A capital "Q" in proper cursive looks like the number "2."
But my predicament simply added to the argument that cursive handwriting is no longer an important part of our everyday lives.
It's amazing how quickly things can change. What was fundamental just two decades ago is now close to obsolete.
So we have come to the end of Spring Break 2014. The whole family journeyed out on a sunny, warm(!) afternoon this week and saw The Lego Movie, which was actually a very cute film. Afterwards, we hit Applebee's (or "Happybee's," as the Boy calls it) for dinner.
I like to call these pictures "A crabby day at 'Happybee's.'" Actually, we had fun.
Till next time....
I've heard an unconfirmed rumor that cursive writing, "adult writing," as the Girl calls it, will no longer be taught in elementary. I don't know if this is true; however, the fact that no lessons have been included in her curriculum up to this point makes me think it is so.
This is disappointing, although I do understand the rationale.
We are in a technological age. Computers, tablets, smart phones... these gadgets are not a fad. They are not going away. Considering the pressure teachers are under with the "no child left behind" act, it does seem a massive waste of time to be teaching students something they have no practical use for; cursive handwriting is no longer considered essential.
Yes, it is a dying art form. I can see a day when cursive handwriting will be taught as an elective course, like pottery or poetry. Perhaps it already is?
 |
| Handwriting was once a work of art. |
To be honest, I think it is more important to focus on proper spelling and grammar. Take a quick look at Facebook, Twitter or any other social media and it is astonishing how many people think definitely has an "a" and tomorrow has two "m's". There, their, they're.... then, than.... improper apostrophes... and a million other violations of the simple rules of grammar and/or spelling... this, friends, it is my #1 pet peeve.
But before I become holier than thou, it is time to knock myself down a few notches.
You see, the Girl desperately wants to learn how to write cursively (I wish she had as much enthusiasm for math), so over spring break I decided to begin teaching her the very basics.
I started by simply showing her how to write the alphabet in cursive. I must admit it has been years -- yes, years -- since I've done so (which pretty much confirms the aforementioned rationale for no longer teaching cursive in school) and I had to stop when I got to capital "Q."
I freely admit I was stuck. I had completely forgotten how to cursively write a capital "Q."
It's true. And I'm not proud.
 |
| Once required, I see a day when this will be an interesting elective course in schools, with the course description reading something like, "Take a step back in time and learn how to write like your grandparents did!" |
I finally had to look up the proper formation of "Q."
Of course I remembered as soon as I saw it. A capital "Q" in proper cursive looks like the number "2."
But my predicament simply added to the argument that cursive handwriting is no longer an important part of our everyday lives.
It's amazing how quickly things can change. What was fundamental just two decades ago is now close to obsolete.
<<>>
So we have come to the end of Spring Break 2014. The whole family journeyed out on a sunny, warm(!) afternoon this week and saw The Lego Movie, which was actually a very cute film. Afterwards, we hit Applebee's (or "Happybee's," as the Boy calls it) for dinner.
I like to call these pictures "A crabby day at 'Happybee's.'" Actually, we had fun.
Till next time....
