Re: can't read or write cursive

shopperqvc · ‎03-10-2010

@I am still oxoxI mailed checks to my great neice and great nephew, when they came back to the bank, I looked at the backs of the checks to see how they signed. Neither could endorse a check.

Remember in early grade school drawing grass in a picture. The up and down sawtooth type of scribble? Well, that's how my neice "signed" her check. The nephew printed his name and not that easy to read. It certainly wasn't neat or easy to read. In both cases their Great Grandfather would have been ashamed of their writting. He worked very hard on having such nice penmanship.

And, no they can't tell time if it's not an analog clock. Give them a watch with a dial and they don't know what to do with it. Tell them to meet you at quarter to eleven, they haven't a clue what time to meet you.

I went to a fast food place and bought a sandwich and a drink. I gave the girl at the drive through my money and she must have keyed it in wrong. She handed me my "meal" and my change. I'll never know how much "Here you go" is.

I checked my change, and it was too much.I told her I had too much money back. She informed me that the computer is never wrong. I tried to explain how much I should have gotten back and that her drawer would be short. She was starting to get angry now, and again told me computers are never wrong.

I gave up and went home with my meal and more money than I had started out with. I tried to give her my number so when she came up short she could call, but she was having none of that.

I'm not sure what is taught today, but life lessons shouldn't be pushed aside. And, yes, parents should be paying attention to make sure their kids are taught things they need to learn. It doesn't hurt for parents to do a lot of teaching at home either.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@Bridgegal wrote:
@Peaches McPhee

I agree. As a former teacher, I was aghast to learn cursive wasn't taught anymore. And yes, many students can't tell time on a clock or watch.

But I've come to think that it doesn't matter. They can put their name on documents, they master a keyboard and tablets/iPads by age 2 and many are learning to code in early elementary school.

Times change and so do the skills that are important.

They may be able to do the skills that are important but they will be ignorant. They will not be able to read centuries of historic documents; they will not be able to understand documents from centuries past or letters from their grandma or past presidents.

They can say "do you want fries with that" for a living but they cannot be a lot of things in this world because they cannot read much of the library of published and stored documents.

They will not have skills that children from better schools and foreign countries have. They can't compete with them.

Being able to get along has never been equated with being educated and appreciating the world and it's history and it's past civilizations.

So yes, it's not necessary, neither are arts, music, and literature. Does it make a difference in the citizen? Does it make a more civilized world? Or does it make a world where getting by is the point?

Is education simply trade school or is it about building people with context to their lives, reasoning power, empathy, an appreciation for achievement and humanity, and the curiosity that makes us appreciate what we have? I guess history doesn't matter any more. It breaks my heart that we have kids that can't read letters from their mother or a card from grandma and don't care.

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

Culture enriches all of our lives @Sooner.

Math is like a ladder. You must be secure on one rung ,before you can advance to the next. Not being able to tell time , makes me think ,they never learned their times tables

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

@kittyloo wrote:
so my step-daughter was over last weekend. both her and her brother are very intelligent. ages 15 and almost 18. so when she mentioned that neither one of them can write cursive, and older brother can't read it at all, i was floored. I mean really floored. what???? I realize that it;s mostly not taught in schools anymore, but i had a really hard time wrapping my head around this. Is this unnecessary anymore? you don't have to sign your name? print it, or make a X? is this really the norm? Granted they go to a very "liberal,school" in a college town. (not sure if this makes a difference or not) maybe i'm just out of touch. not sure. they have 3 bathrooms, if that tell's you anything. just minor venting.

My grandson is going to what you call "a liberal school" and he is being taught cursive. It must vary throughout the United States.

My daughter and I had this discussion about cursive and if he wasn't being taught cursive, she would teach him or certainly I would. Sometimes, if we want our children to learn something, then we ourselves need to teach them. Or at least in our family......

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

@sidsmom wrote:
@Love to Run wrote:
I'm far more concerned with our children's inability to think critically than their inability to write in cursive or read analog clocks. While we may have a certain affinity for them, these skills are decidedly unnecessary in today's workforce. These kids do, however, posses skills that are very necessary, and which far too many adults lack, like the ability to set a digital clock, set up a television and/or cable box, program a cellphone, download software, and on and on...

This!☝️☝️☝️👏👏👏

I can do all of it. I am not a youngster (nearly 59). My liberal arts degree has served me very well. I hand wrote all of my papers with a cartridge pen (and did algebra that way, too) because I could not master the old Royal and do footnotes adequately for the English papers.

Technology is simply logic. I don't see it as mmediate gratification, though it certinly can be expeditious. 😎🤠💀. Go figure

Cogito ergo sum

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@Love to Run wrote:
I'm far more concerned with our children's inability to think critically than their inability to write in cursive or read analog clocks. While we may have a certain affinity for them, these skills are decidedly unnecessary in today's workforce. These kids do, however, posses skills that are very necessary, and which far too many adults lack, like the ability to set a digital clock, set up a television and/or cable box, program a cellphone, download software, and on and on...

LOL - I guess I'm glad I grew up and was educated, when I was. I can do all of the above. And without some of the "antiquated" skills that many of us learned, I wonder how today's children learn to think critically?

Can they read and assess everything for themselves or do they rely on what they hear or are told to make decisions? Does social media inform their decisions to a higher degree?

I always wonder how some would fare if the power grid went down. I know I could survive without all the technological gadgets (and in previous jobs have had to, when computer systems failed). Less knowledge and education is never a good thing.

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

Mersha · ‎03-10-2010

I have volunteered for a number of years in my grandchildren's classrooms and it was a real eye opener.

Regarding math, they are not looking only for a sum on a problem, they want the children to know WHY it is that number. In first and second grade each child has a bag of cubes to answer each problem. It takes so much longer than if I did it the way that I was taught. Maybe this is why children struggle counting change these days.

My other gripe is they do not teach geography in our district. I would bet that the majority of middle school children would have no idea how to identify states on a blank map let alone countries in the world.

Sad.

"My desire to be well informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane."

debic · ‎09-02-2010

I’ve never understood how lefthanders have made a chore out of writing. Who the heck taught them to wrap their wrists around the paper? I’m pretty sure I’d dislocate my wrist trying to write like that. I don’t turn the paper either. I write just like right hander, no back slants and fairly nice writing.

On the other hand my husband has always printed all capital letters no less.

The thing I had trouble with was my kid was not required to spell anything as long as the content was there. We went the rounds, I even went to the school and was shot down. He told me I was right when he hit middle school and they expected him to be able to spell.

~~
*Off The Deep End~A very short trip for some!*

Ms tyrion2 · ‎05-08-2017

I went to school in the 60s and 70s.

I was not taught to count change or how to tell time on an analog clock at school. I learned those skills at home. The only "life skills" taught at school were home economics and shop.

Are people confusing life skills and education? Parents have responsibility here.

CelticCrafter · ‎03-09-2010

@debic wrote:
I’ve never understood how lefthanders have made a chore out of writing. Who the heck taught them to wrap their wrists around the paper? I’m pretty sure I’d dislocate my wrist trying to write like that. I don’t turn the paper either. I write just like right hander, no back slants and fairly nice writing.

On the other hand my husband has always printed all capital letters no less.

The thing I had trouble with was my kid was not required to spell anything as long as the content was there. We went the rounds, I even went to the school and was shot down. He told me I was right when he hit middle school and they expected him to be able to spell.

@debic - I think a lot of left handed kids were afraid to turn the paper once it was put down on the desk, especially if it were a nun that put the paper down. I personally didn't care if I suffered her wrath, I turned the page so I didn't have to curl my wrist in to some unnatural position to be able to write.