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My PO carrier told me a few years ago to stop writing my envelopes in cursive because the younger crowd can't read them.
Yes the PO is automated but you still need a carrier that delivers that item to the mailbox and if they can't read it it goes back to the PO and into a pile to be "translated" so the carrier can deliver it the next day.
Now that may not be the case everywhere but it was for the town I lived in.
If teaching cursive is so absurdly easy, why is it booted out of schools?
If three or four generations don't learn cursive, very few, if any, will be able to read the original founding documents. Then, they'll have to rely on Google to tell them what the documents say.
All those documents can be found online in a sans serif font.
Cursive is not a different language, it's just a different font.
What is slightly more daunting is learning archaic English grammar and vocabulary. Most modern people don't know that by "happiness" Jefferson actually meant eudomania. But his contemporaries knew that.
They don't seem to teach English. Look at the spelling, the poor punctuation, the bad grammar.
They don't know how to use a semi colon, they insert random commas whenever they feel like it, they stick an apostrophe into a word to form a plural, a lot of them can't form paragraphs.
They don't seem to learn history or civics. It's a dangerous situation and I fear that the few who do learn to write in cursive, who learn to use grammar so that their communications are intelligible, who know something about history and other related subjects, will be the ones who will be ruling and controlling the others at some point in the future. The semi educated, barely literate won't be well enough equipped to fight back.
I left teaching English about 15 years ago when they were still teaching cursive. It was very time consuming and the kids were not learning other skills. I would rather kids learn spelling, punctuation and grammar than cursive, especially since 99% of the time, people will be typing things these days or can write in print. I was instructed a long time ago to write addresses on letters in block.
It also takes much longer to grade papers written in cursive because the kids were usually not that good at it. I can read cursive fine, but the penmanship was awful. At that time, it was required for the kids to write in cursive. I just cringed...
I don't even believe that reading cursive really needs to be taught, per se.
It's not a different language, it's just a different font.
You are correct, it is not even something that needs to be "taught". A college Russian 101 class for example, spends about five class periods total teaching cursive and that is about it, the rest is OJT throughout the semester and beyond.
Likewise, when I was teaching ESOL to native Russian speakers, the cursive part was a few class periods, then they just learned it as they completed assignments.
So it really baffles me that a school cannot manage to find any time to teach this easy skill, and if so, how parents are not able to teach their kids this.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Kids should learn cursive but it should not occupy a big chunk of their time. When I was in elementary school in the early 1990s it seemed like 50% of some grade years, only to be reduced to needing only a signature. Mainly so they can read what it says and sign their name.
Apparently, Montessori teaches reading in cursive and you can buy their books.
Books-In-Cursive: Wild Flower Children Poems
Unlocking the Secrets of Hand Shadows: A Book to Read Aloud with Dad: Engaged Reader Books in Cursive Read and Do Series Book #2 (Volume 2) by Bridget Hughes (2015-09-19) Paperback – January 1, 1832
Many Pennies: A Book to Read Aloud with Mom: Engaged Reader Books in Cursive "Read and Do" Series Book #1 (Volume 1) 1st Edition
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Hardcover – Illustrated, October 22, 2019
These can be difficult to find, but they are around.
What exactly do teachers do to earn their full time salaries and obscene benefit packages for their part-time jobs?
American education is in a sorry state: of the "Three R's" only one of them starts with an "R" and The Big Ten consists of 12 schools. ...????
If you can't write & read hand-writing, what will you do when the SHTF?
"Oh look, a thread in the Education forum! What a perfect opportunity for me to go off on a rant that has nothing to do with the actual subject of the thread!"
My wife is a kindergarten teacher. She works* longer hours than do I, and I work more than forty hours per week.
I said 'works'; I didn't say 'gets paid for'. It might occur to you to appreciate a public servant who does pro bono work, for which you receive the benefit of said work without having to serve up taxes to that end. But I suppose that's beyond you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacInTx
If teaching cursive is so absurdly easy, why is it booted out of schools?
If three or four generations don't learn cursive, very few, if any, will be able to read the original founding documents. Then, they'll have to rely on Google to tell them what the documents say.
Yes. So?
You do know that the photos you see of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are by definition reproductions, right? In fact, the un-enhanced Declaration of Independence is barely readable at all due to folds and faded inks, as well as to damage done to the original during the John Quincy Adams administration when copperplate copies of it were made.
Do you really think that matters?
Hint: it doesn't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk
The scanner can't read them, more to the point.
Correct.
It's pretty easy to figure out 'Elm Street' from 'Washington Boulevard' even if one doesn't know cursive. And the numbers are all the same.
It's the machines that sort the letters into the order in which they're delivered that has problems with cursive.
Last edited by 2x3x29x41; 08-09-2020 at 03:20 PM..
Hours of Instruction in the Classroom: 1,170
Hours on Classroom Prep, Planning, etc.: 450
Hours of Grading Outside of the Classroom: 300
Hours of Planning Outside of the Classroom: 140
Hours Spent on Summer PD: 100
Hours Spent on Email and Other Communication: 40
Quote:
Our grand total is 2,200 hours, or 42 hours a week, working year-round.
My niece and nephew didn't learn cursive in school until 5th grade, but at least they did learn.
It's a useful skill, no different from addition or constructing a sentence. I can't imagine not knowing how - it takes me twice as long to print a legible sentence as it does to write it in cursive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto
A full time job is 2000 hrs/yr, minimum...Teaches work 1100 maximum.
That's how many hours school is in session. Teachers work a lot more than the hours they spend in the classroom.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk
What is slightly more daunting is learning archaic English grammar and vocabulary. Most modern people don't know that by "happiness" Jefferson actually meant eudomania. But his contemporaries knew that.
The word Jefferson actually meant is "eudaimonia" or "human flourishing".
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