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I have many times wondered, when I see young people with a pen in their hands (although I admit that is less and less often these days), where/how they learned that death grip they use. It really looks uncomfortable/tiring and I can see why these kids would not be able to write essays, tests, etc. with a pen or pencil any more. I think it is very sad.
When I grew up, we had to learn to use a straight pen with ink from a bottle before we were allowed to use a cartridge pen (which also had fluid ink in it). I think I was in high school before we were allowed to use ball point pens (and they were the nice ones with refills, not the disposable ones that come 10 for $1.00 now). We learned to value our possessions (because they were not cheap to replace and most of us heard from our parents if we lost or broke one, believe me). We held our pens lightly too, not as though we were angrily trying to tear the paper into bits with it. If one didn't do that, it would have taken weeks to write a 10 page paper - and we were often required to write those and pass them in (and they had to be legible!). From that I think most of us learned self-discipline as well. I know it helped with self-esteem too - we had pride in a job well done. And we learned how to fail and then succeed. Little things but they make a big long term difference in a child's (then adult's) life.
But, for all of that, I don't think it took much time out of the school day in the early grades to learn to hold the pens, use them with real inks (and blotters), and write in cursive. I don't see the harm in teaching the kids at least how to hold a pen .. and frankly if we all go back to signing our names with an X that seems like a huge step backwards in time to before schooling existed for most people .. why would we want to do that in an age when supposedly we are so 'advanced'? Anything you learn to do well in school is a 'learning to learn' situation in my estimation - and learning how to hold and use a pen should not be a forgotten art for a lot of very basic reasons which go far beyond the actual writing part.
How many millennials write checks?! Everything is electronic.
I sometimes write checks either to somebody who doesn't take online payments, or when giving money to an individual when I don't have the cash in my wallet. What other alternatives do people use?
How about teaching proper manuscript (printing)? I cannot tell you how many of my (5th grade) students cannot hold a pencil correctly, and form letters and numbers from bottom to top. And 4's look like 9's, because they don't understand that they may need to lift their pencil for the second stroke.
Have you considered dropping down in the grade you teach so that YOU can properly train them to write at an age-appropriate time? How about speaking to the teachers in your district that are already teaching those grades about what you see? Or is this the parents job?
Why would children not be able to read cursive? Don't see that. It is pretty much just another font. There are languages were it might be difficult but English is not one.
Creating cursive is a learned skill but reading it is not. I would think differences in the language on older examples may be more of a problem than cursive.
I print on checks except for the signature...actually some high bred between printing and cursive. The signature has lost all the connection to its cursive roots by now.
I think that is an exaggeration that nobody uses checks anymore. Do you seriously never write checks? In any case, being able to sign your name is one important reason why cursive needs to be taught.
I do all of the shopping, pay all of the household bills, and pay all of the credit cards. I write 4 checks a year. Quarterly payments on my Luddite MetLife insurance policy, who do not accept any form of electronic or online payments. Everything else is either debit card or electronic transfer.
And your signature is NOT by definition in script or cursive. It can be anything from an 'X' to a fancy monogram to a doodle of a man smoking a pipe. It just needs to be more or less consistent. You don't need to READ a signature, just RECOGNIZE it.
How many millennials write checks?! Everything is electronic.
I voted Yes because average people should be able to read the Declaration of Independence and other documents for themselves. It should not be left up to a "priestly class" to interpret and filter those documents for us. I have other reasons but that's one of my reasons.
Sadly, the Declaration of Independence is in such poor condition that it is nearly impossible to read it anyway. I'm pretty sure that copies transliterated into standard print are still available online and in paper books.
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