Posted on 06/28/2013 1:29:33 PM PDT by TigerClaws
A single sentence, uttered in the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin, has catapulted an issue into the national spotlight.
When asked if she could read a letter in court, witness Rachel Jeantel, her head bowed, murmured with embarrassment, "I don't read cursive," according to court testimony.
Is it any surprise that cursive -- the looped, curvaceous style of handwriting that's been a mainstay of education for generations -- is all but dead? [15 Weird Things We Do Everyday, and Why]
"Cursive should be allowed to die. In fact, it's already dying, despite having been taught for decades," Morgan Polikoff, assistant professor of education at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, told The New York Times.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I was taught handwriting in school 70 years ago but what is cursive?
LOL+
Not any more. It used to be DD MONTH YEAR. Today would have been 28 Jun 13. A few years before I retired at the end of 2011, they went to the YYYY/MO/DD or today’s date would be 20130628. Took me a long time to change to that format.
“I see it as a way cut off future generations from learning
from past generations. All the letters and all the writings of our forefathers were written in cursive.”
Interesting theory. This sparked my interested in going and rereading parts of the Constitution by way of a scanned image to pay closer attention to the look of the writing. I never released there were corrections on the document — I’d always read it as a reprint.
I love word processors. Spell check. Grammar and punctuation check. Control c, control x control v. Love, love, love it! So much better than a typewriter and no need for white out or a correction tape. No piles of crumpled paper with one error marring the entire page.
Yes, I learned the Palmer Method. Hated every second. I studied calligraphy as a part of an ad design course. Slightly better than cursive and more creative, but not something I would spend time doing unless required.
The old documents from the 18th century are full of those Germanic-looking letters that, for me, were always confusing. I can read them, but it is almost an act of translation at times. I get the idea of the connection formed when deciphering old script, but I think I tend more to see the entire page as a work of art. Typeface is better, for me, when I am reading for content.
Effort for its own sake could just as easily be applied to content as to form. Excessive care given to the handwritten form could just as likely stunt the expression of thought. I like putting thoughts into words, but I would rather spend the time honing the thoughts and polishing the language than tediously forming each letter or word. Sometimes, while writing, a thought occurs that needs to have been inserted prior. Pre-word processors, that meant re-writing/re-typing entire sections. Now, it means going to the correct spot and simply inserting the addition. It is one of the technological advances I would miss mightily if it were to disappear.
I took lecture notes in my own version of Speed Writing when I was in college. Part script, part printing, lots of diagramming, underlining, etc. It sufficed, but I also remember hand cramps and that funny callus on the outside of the little finger on my right hand. Typing notes as a study exercise also resulted in worse carpal tunnel symptoms than using my nice ergonomic keyboard.
I write stories and wrote poetry when younger. I think my thoughts flow unimpeded with a word processor and I can correct either on the fly or in a short time proof reading when I am finished.
Pretty handwriting is a nice accomplishment. Maybe it fosters disciplined thought. But it was, for me, IMO, a waste of time and effort.
I’ve read a lot of your posts and you write well because you know what you are talking about, you think about what you are saying and have the vocabulary and experiences to illustrate those thoughts. You may credit your having learned Palmer Method, but it is just as likely your own careful way of thought and communication. Certainly, you aren’t hand writing your FR posts!
The thing about Rachael is she can’t read at all, let alone write beyond a signature. She was primed to say *cursive*. She is undisciplined in thought, word and deed. She lives in a world that values appearance and attitude over substance and accomplishment, but she is far from unique in that. You could observe that she is an exemplar of the current age and many of us are obsolete relics. And that would unfortunately be correct.
I read somewhere that the complexity of the Chinese alphabet, where the characters are almost like painted images/calligraphy, causes their brains to work harder and increases intelligence. I don’t know if that’s been verified but it does make some sense to me.
“I was truly shocked she knew what the word cursive meant. Sort of like using the term niggardly.”
Maybe the prosectution had shown the letter to her and they talked about it. I bet the term cursive came up at that time.
LOL!
I know! I've been 29 for years......
Well, at the time you were going through 3rd grade, I wasn’t even born yet!
The problem with that is that the LIV’s will think that state bordering Alabama to the east is “Mifsifsippi.”
I haven’t written in cursive in many years. Not that I don’t want to ... I just never could write neatly.
I did not know that. We just had either the abbreviated date: 28JUN13
The full date: 28 June 2013
Or a standard DTG: 16:55 28JUN13
My left-handed scrawl can be legible most of the time. At a former place of employment in TV world, I had a pointy-haired good ole boy boss who loved spreadsheets and written technical evaluation forms.
Towards the end of my time there I got so burned out that I let my handwriting go and just scribbled. The binders that held them got so full since he or his chief minion gave up on them but my stuff checked.
That was just one thing I did to show how meaningless most of his pet theories and procedures were meaningless. From what I hear he hasn’t changed and is still in love with meaningless forms and reports.
I knew one other adult who could not read. He was VERY good at hiding the fact.
hear, hear!
I learned cursive in the third grade. That was 1964.....
Same for me, except I finished third grade in 1977.
The exchange led me to wonder why you did not finish third grade for 13 years.
Having the hard copy books may become illegal (contraband, ya' know!).
What is it?
I never have seen or heard the word in my life until yesterday here on FR and I was taught handwriting in school 70 years ago and still use it daily.
It’s worthless. Especially in a modern world where pen and paper barely meet in the first place, no reason to have two different types of hand writing. One, one that more closely matches the printed word, suffices just fine. It’s very high on the list of things I learned in school that I never used once I got out, and only used in school when forced.
Wow that is a matter of opinion. Let me offer a contrasting opinion.
I think it would be sad to have future generations unable to READ the founding father’s documents—is that part of the agenda? If they can’t write it, will they be able to read it? Will history literally be rewritten as students cannot read the original documents?
I was a fairly fast typist...75-85 wpm, and that skill landed me numerous lucrative office positions during college and beyond.
I studied programming in college and used a lot of print in coding. However, today I still use both printing and cursive....cursive, tho not as fast typing, is much faster than printing.
You say there is no reason to have have 2 different types of handwriting, well printing is not handwriting....you learn to print first —it goes hand-in-hand with reading...then students learn to write in cursive.
I think it is sad that since a witness on a public trial cannot read cursive, the national argument against cursive is heating up and people are pulling for the dumbing down of society... Let’s skip teaching grammar and spelling, too, as we can just use spell-check on our computers, and we are moving to email and texting society where people use abbreviations such as “BTW, OMG, IMHO, TTYL,” etc.
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