Community Chat

[ID2]

So very glad I raised my kids in the 80's-90's where they had to learn these fundamental necessities of life.

[AuntG]

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@Ms tyrion2 wrote:

If learning cursive is important to you, why not teach your kids yourself?  Parents need to know that schools are not responsible for all learning. Much of it can occur at home.

Poor spelling is not a generational anomaly.  We see plenty of spelling challenged people here.

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Wow, am I glad we have a choice of schools because there are some that still teach it. As for spelling and word usage, the device I use tends to change things, so I'm actually better than it appears out here. What I need to do is proofread.

[scatcat]

What!

The kids don’t write in cursive AND they have 3 bathrooms??

What’s this world coming to

[CAMOGIRL]

Every single man in this family can not write anything in cursive without basically a big long scribble. 

But anyhow - the grandkids are completely clueless I swear when it comes to cursive -  ...they are like “huh? .....”, like it is an alien word or something I swear!

[CelticCrafter]

My daughter is 30, she can write in cursive, tell time on an old fashioned clock with Roman numerals and Arabic numerals, use a rotary phone and a car that is equiped with an actual key and ignition.

I do hope that if she does have children she will teach them how to write in cursive.  It just makes me sad that they wouldn't be able to read anything I may have left behind.

[Love to Run]

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...

[Lipstickdiva]

I work with a woman who is about 6 months short of retirement age and she cannot write in cursive.  She doesn't even sign her name all the way in cursive.  It's a combination of a few cursive letters and printed letters.

They don't teach cursive here anymore either. 

[sidsmom]

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@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...

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This!☝️☝️☝️👏👏👏

[Krimpette]

I send greeting cards all year long, with the bulk of them being at Christmas.  I handwrite all the envelopes in cursive.  I wonder if the day will come when those cards are returned to me because the postal employees can't read the name and address?

[Kalli]

These threads arise on a regular basis.  I sometimes wonder if it's just to act like we're better than younger folks who can't write cursive or who can't make change as fast as we can. (To be honest, I'm a lot better at making change, figuring percentages, and using decimals now than ever before.  Oh, wait, I'm old.  Maybe I've just gotten better at these skills because I've been using them for many years??)

Cursive IS taught in our local elementary schools.  But it's not given the role of importance it once was.  It comes down to time, precious time.  For years teachers were told employers wanted to hire those who can think critically, solve problems, work as a team.  Over time our curriculum changed to center more on critical thinking and solving problems.

Add to this the fact that the general public began complaining that there was no way to "measure" learning and to measure whether teachers were actually working. Standardized tests came along and instructional time was used to help students perform well on these tests. No cursive on the tests.  Be careful what you ask for.  

If you think you can contribute in a positive way or you have a better approach, volunteer at your local schools.  You won't be allowed to use core instructional time but you could offer a voluntary cursive mini-course during recess time for interested students.  Complaining on a message board isn't going to change anything as evidenced by the fact that this discussion comes up regularly.