Sunday, November 25, 2012

X marks the spot?




I just read in the morning paper that 45 states are seriously considering eliminating teaching cursive writing from their curriculums in schools by the year 2014!  Ok I get it, kids can text lightening fast, but is it really necessary to leave them unprepared to even sign their names?

Let me get this straight right off the bat.  I admit that I have poor handwriting. (So does my Doctor, so I'm not alone)  Sometimes I can’t even decipher what I’ve written if it is more than 48 hours old--but I can sign my name.  It may look a bit wonky, but it is a signature, a cursive signature, my own unique stamp.

Teens love the fact that the kids coming up after them won’t be required to learn to read and write in cursive.  I mean they'll never use it-- right?

Thank you notes, birthday cards, and even Christmas greetings have become a simple email.  Let me say that my son left me a birthday wish on my Facebook page and I was totally hurt that he didn’t even take the time to buy a birthday card, sign it and mail it.  Puhleese!!!

At the rate we are going how long before speech becomes obsolete?  After all you can always text.  People fight by text, they make up by text, and they even break up by text!  A Dear John letter is now a text or maybe even a tweet…seriously, how many sentences does it take to say it’s over?  

What will the future look like without cursive?  Well…

2025- Computers fail for one day and the world is plunged into a state of chaos.

2100- a boy graduates from high school and receives many well wishes and gifts.  He pulls out his hand top (laptops are ancient) and sends a hundred thank you notes with the touch of a button.  He smiles, thankful that his parents taught him good manners.

2199- a petition is making the rounds in an office asking for better pay and benefits.  The only signatures garnered are a hundred X’s.

2200- a teen goes to a sports game and waits outside the player’s gate.  He sees his idol and walks up to him pulls out his electronic paper and asks him to sign his screen.  Yes, he signs with a big X. and it fits nicely into this teen's X collection.

2255- while digging in the dirt outside his home a child finds a long cylindrical item with a point at the tip.  He ponders for several minutes on its use, pulls out his cell and texts a photo to his dad, who has no idea.

3099- someone discovers some ancient letters in a cave. The letter contains a computer printout AND cursive. Hailed as Rosetta stone #2  scientists have a tool for deciphering the words of ancient, long gone civilizations.

Just thought I'd mention...Virginia is one of 5 states that still want to require cursive.

14 comments:

maddyrose said...

This post mirrors my own thoughts on the subject but with much more humor.

Rita said...

I think it is a crying shame. I've been a journaler and letter writer all my life. I can't imagine a world where one cannot put pen to paper and express one's thoughts. And our increasing dependence upon electricity is becoming alarming. I totally agree with you.

Faye said...

love the drawing of the hand. Really beautiful work. I do a form of calligraphy and use it to write in the cards the nursing home residents make at our craft club. I have a bundle of letters written by hand by my daughter at college 25 years ago. I'd hate to see handwriting (cursive) disappear. But I remember we had "Penmanship" in grammar school. For a little while we had to learn the Palmer method. It was tedious but I bet all of us still alive can still write cursive. I live in VA and home we can hold out.

Craftymoose Crafts said...

I agree with you wholeheartedly! In fact, I think texting has taken away teens' verbal skills!

Linda E. Pruitt said...

Love this post! You said it so well! I agree!

Liz Revit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Magic Love Crow said...

I agree with everything you have said Crystal! It's going too far! You know, I don't even own a cell phone! I don't want it!

Liz Revit said...

Schools no longer require students to learn how to diagram sentences, which is the best way to learn grammar and good writing skills. Most schools are no longer required to teach American history, so our students have no idea how this country was founded. Now they want to get rid of cursive writing. So, what exactly are these kids learning in school today?

Christine said...

what a beautiful hand you have drawn!
And point taken, we NEED cursive!

Christine said...

Ugh, this sounds horrible. I already notice how poorly younger folk write. I was mulling similar thoughts after hearing a university level teacher wanted to do away with formal papers. I don't understand why no one gets the importance of writing well - a vital skill for anyone. It may be that we are a more visual culture, but being able to think critically and organize thoughts is important.

Wanda said...

A truly insightful post. My goodness it downright scary.

I love cursive... I DO write letter and notes and thank yous...

Can we just put the world on HOLD!!

Wanda said...

Oops, I forgot.... I love your drawing...Please mat and frame it for the archives.

Judy Adamson said...

An argument in favour of learning handwriting that any non-teachers may not know about - writing words by hand while saying the sounds of the letters out loud is one of the most effective ways to teach children to spell!

It is an important part of the Synthetic Phonics literacy programs that are used pretty widely in the UK since the Rose Report looked into the teaching of literacy in 2006 and the government adopted its findings.

I tried, in vain, to interest a Linkedin US remedial reading group in this groundbreaking development, but they hadn't even heard about it aqnd weren't interested in knowing more :(

Great drawing, btw, Crystal - does this mean that your wrist/hand problems are resolved? I do hope so!

Jehanne's doodles said...

Great post. Here the kids concentrate on hand writing the first 2 years of school. Somehow my son has managed to retain his own scrawl much to everyone's horror :)

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