Posted on 09/27/2015 5:35:19 AM PDT by knarf
You have value.
I always loved it. We learned in second grade...inkwell and the old scratchy nib pen. We'd wrote a practice sheet of the ABC's every day. We advanced to spelling words and then advanced to writing a paragraph on some subject.
Stop the shortcut teaching....
As I understand it, this document begins: "You, the peasants ..."
High-level administrators (and the consultants they hire) frequently feel the need to do something dramatic in order to justify their positions, and to add something to their resumes.
Here's an example of that from my school district. For years we offered a general science course in the high school. This was an overview course, with minimal math. It was a good offering, and meant for those students with low math skills.
Then about 5 years ago, consultants came in. They said that our students needed to be challenged more. The general science course was eliminated. Every high school student (even the special ed kids) was shoved into chemistry and then physics.
It was a disaster. So now we have a new set of consultants. Their recommendation? We need a general science course for the low math skills kids!
They couldn’t read grandma’s letters.
Some day? Is your real name Rip Van Winkle?
I’ve been guilty of and paid many a speeding ticket in my life.
That ticket wasn’t fair and the officer was a jerk. That ticket I rebutted on principle. They deserved PITA treatment.
Seems an unlikely site for malware.
Red screen with a security warning, but no actual readable links. The mods might want to check, but it's not the end site, it's something in between.
Maybe so, but FReepers don't.
You kind of put me in mind of Bill Clinton.....who purports that it doesn’t matter how we win, only that we win. Doesn’t seem to me that either of you are taking any responsibility for your actions.
I love really good cursive writing, I am 71 so I am among those who ATTEMPTED to learn cursive in school. Unfortunately I never seemed to be any good at it no matter how hard I tried, some of my classmates who were good at it didn’t seem to be really good at much else, it seemed to require a certain artistic ability and I am a technician. I have seen very few who could write in a classy looking, easy to read cursive. I always wanted to but finally just gave up and started block printing so that people could read what I wrote. I would pay a fairly large sum if someone could teach me to write in the style of John Hancock or some of the other founding fathers.
I homeschooled. We learned cursive (in fact some homeschool curriculum start with cursive, even before printing.)
My son’s cursive is atrocious now. He’s late twenties, has his Master’s, his career is moving forward, and he’a gotten regular promotions...even though his handwriting is awful and his signature is a scrawl (come to think of it...when I write a card, or note, I use a mishmash of cursive and printing...so my cursive isn’t so hot either.)
In today’s world, where does one use writing...except for cards, and checks (which are a dinosaur...only person I know who writes checks is my 89 year old dad:)
I understand the point of your post, but penmanship isn’t a necessary skill for success in life or in the workplace.
How have I been a PITA here? This is an opinion site. An opinion was offered in favor of cursive and placed up for discussion
I offered an opposing, if minority view.
Is opposing a status quo opinion now the equivalent of being a PITA?
I had no idea. In that case, I retract my opinion that cursive is a waste of time in an Internet society. I apologize for having an opinion on it.
Cursive may not be your cup of tea, but it is important and should not be relegated to the status of a lost art. Kids who won’t read/write cursive will be at a disadvantage. I expect good parents who homeschool will continue to teach the basics, and their children will be more successful than others.
You mentioned “a keyboard drive world”. That isn’t even the case any more. The existence of keyboards are dwindling due to new voice recognition software and poking letters on a flat screen. There may be a time when kids won’t be able to Google anything or read the “interweb”. We don’t know what restrictions future leaders have in store for us.
Latin also is “dead”. But I learned it, and it has made school and life easier. The smartest people I know were Latin students. So it’s dead, but is helpful.
Huh? I wasn’t guilty of the infraction. The area is a well known speed trap and I adjusted my speed accordingly. Read the brief if you would like to do so. Ultimately, the City Atty declined to prosecute because I was right that the sign was placed wrong and if I won in Court, that would have invalidated hundreds of other tickets.
I agree with your comparison to Latin, and in that respect, I do believe that cursive has its place. Absolutely.
But. Is that place occupying a prime position in a developing elementary school child’s day? Should we teach Latin to every 1st grader?
Or, should Latin be a subject for older children who develop a knack and interest in such things?
Have we moved, as a society, to a place where cursive is less of a utilitarian need and more of a specialty skill? I think so.
I can remember my tenth grade teacher telling me I’d be made fun of as an adult for not writing in cursive. Here I am, 30 years later, and I don’t know a single person that routinely writes in cursive.
I remember the new typewriter the typing class teacher got back in 1963 that printed in cursive. Everyone really liked it.
I remember in school I thought I would never learn cursive when it was first taught. Within a year that is all I wrote in. I just seemed to pick it up easily.
I totally understand your point having been in IT (VERY technical - manufacturing side) for 37 years.
However, it’s good for a developing brain. You know, that synapse thingy..
There will never, ever be another Newton, da vinci, Michelangelo, Brahms, Bach, nor Beethoven. (if you get my drift)
Can they teach them to write it so that all others can read it? Cursive is currently a complete failure because it’s harder to read than hieroglyphics.
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