If I had to so do they! LOL There are a lot of people left in the world who only write that way. It is still a big part of communication that they need to be able to understand.
Now you've done it....there's generations of elementary teachers led by a battalion of nuns rising up from the grave with hickory pointers at the ready, on hearing the question of the day.....with out it how could a doctor scribble a prescription, what would happen to all the callouse bumps that develope on ones middle finger from the hours of grueling practice of cursivive in first and second grades....oh, never mind I've just been informed that writing is no longer a required skill it is to be replcaed with texting, tweeting and sexting for the future political leaders.
All joking aside, cursive writing is an obsolete skill. Besides for a quick post-it note or filling in an order form, who would use the skill? I would replace the time spent teaching cursive writing with mandatory typing class. Times have changed, kids need to know how to print, and type.
When I was in junior high, I noticed my dad never wrote in cursive, so I stopped writing in cursive.
I can read cursive today (if the writer has good penmanship), but write it? No way. The best I can do is sign my own name in cursive. Beyond that, I print everything (though some who have looked over my shoulder while I scribble notes would question my printing skill).
I took typing my junior year in high school because the week when we were supposed to sign up for classes, my parents took me to Colorado for a vacation. My grandmother registered me for my classes. All the electives I requested were filled, so she signed me up for typing.
That may be the single most fortuitous twist of fate in my life.
Charlie, I beg to differ. The amount of handwritten documentation that I do in my profession is significant. I would guess that my work is not so different from others. I haven't done social work in ages, but last I knew case notes had to be handwritten.
I would also suggest that part of the learning of language is the connection between reading and the physical act of writing. I don't know as that same connection exists with electronically executed writing. ...If one is deprived of electronic device, should some recourse exist for written communication? I suppose penmanship is not essential, but one does want a scribbled call for help to be reasonably clear.
I'm trying hard not to sound sentimental or retrograde, but there is something very personal about one's handwriting that cannot be detected from electronic text- no matter how many fonts, colors and emoticons are available. The concept of a historical break from handwritten communication does not seem like a benchmark worthy of celebration. The historical trail of humanity is fairly consistent given the democratic application of writing skills. It is traced through ephemera such as diaries, logs and letters. How permanent will the digital record be? Will regular format and software changes erase all that preceded it? Will average people save anything for posterity?
Will there ever be another Thank You note or Get Well card written?
...Slightly off-topic: I wonder the same about digital photographs. Up until recently, many homes have photographs of family members from past generations on display. Hoarded in dusty albums are countless photographs. Aside from the faded color, these documents will last for ages. Can we say the same for digital files?
You don't need to write cursive to send a physical thank you note or get well card.
Though, I must say, on my birthday I received nearly 100 happy birthday wishes on Facebook. I doubt I've received more than a total of 100 birthday cards in my prior 50 years of life. It was very gratifying to receive all of those birthday wishes from friends and family from all over the country. I don't see how the well wishers diminished the message at all by using FB instead of sending a card.
I don't much care if people print or if they write - what bothers me is the rampant illiteracy of the kids coming out of school these days. Spelling, grammar - gone by the wayside. I mean like the difference between there, their and they're - kids don't KNOW this kind of stuff any more. It's very sad.
C.M., hard to say for sure what will happen to digital files.
For the written word, Google saves everything, Facebook saves everything, Twitter saves everything, most sites are archived by the Internet archive.
With Flickr, I imagine as long as Flickr is in business, everything will be saved.
The one of advantage of digital is it's cheap and easy to save and store multiple archives of things, especially photos.
Whether machines of the future will be able to retrive these future files is unknown.
And digital files, just like paper files, degrade over time if not properly maintained.
During the Civil War, photos were made on glass plates. These glass plates could be saved FOREVER if properly maintained. Only a fraction of all the photos taken of the war survive. One historian found a green house with panes made from Civil War photos, and only a couple could be salvaged to use for new prints. Many plates were simply discarded after the war. In other words, nothing lasts forever -- not glass, not paper, not metal, not digital.
C.M. - as a Speech Pathologist, with educational and Medicaid responsibilities, everything is documented online. From session notes to progress reports and evaluations. Only occasionally is my real signature required, most of the time it is done electronically. It is legible and immediately available to those that need the information. I never use cursive except to sign contracts and paychecks.
I agree with Charlie. Cursive writing is an obsolete skill. Anything that can be communicated with cursive handwriting can be communicated with printed handwriting. No need to teach both. Time to take the energy used to teach cursive to children and spend it on a skill with more timely application.
CM, jobs where you hand write anything are a dying breed and if you are hand writing documentation that is a significant departure from current main stream business practices. If you are not entering that information into some type of electronic device, that information cannot be brought into a database to be shared, manipulated or searched. Like it or not, that is what society does with data and that isn’t going to change. Much of my work is based on finding IT solutions that bring efficiencies. The first thing you look for is people who still do manual processes and eliminate the need. Sounds like your company needs to hire and efficiency expert.
I agree with Irene, spelling and grammar is becoming more and more atrocious as I age. However, I reject the notion that it's because the schools don't teach it. It's because society has accepted those who don't read, spell or write so good as OK. If one wants to write well and use words properly, they'll learn how, if they don't think it necessary they won't. Making someone write over and over until they get it right won't create a lifelong habit.
I thought this e-mail worth sharing. To be clear, everything below this sentence is from Kate Gladstone and none of it is written by me.
<em>
Handwriting matters ... But does cursive matter?
Research shows: the fastest and most legible handwriters avoid cursive. They join only some letters, not all of them: making the easiest joins, skipping the rest, and using print-like shapes for those letters whose cursive and printed shapes disagree. (Citation on request.)
Reading cursive still matters -- this takes just 30 to 60 minutes to learn, and can be taught to a five- or six-year-old if the child knows how to read. The value of reading cursive is therefore no justification for writing it.
Remember, too: whatever your elementary school teacher may have been told by her elementary school teacher, cursive signatures have no special legal validity over signatures written in any other way. (Don't take my word for this: talk to any attorney.)
Yours for better letters,
Kate Gladstone — CEO, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
Director, the World Handwriting Contest
Co-Designer, BETTER LETTERS handwriting trainer app for iPhone/iPad http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com
6-B Weis Road, Albany, NY 12208-1942 USA </em>
Why don't we focus on the more important aspects of learning; such as spelling, constructing FULL and COMPLETELY spelled out words and sentences, basic math, reading skills, socialization, the alphabet, american history, and so on; before we worry about what their letters look like.
Howard, that is exactly how I learned to type. I moved to a new school district and my mother signed me up for classes. To my horror, she put me in a typing and a home economics class, made up of all girls. That ended up being the most useful year in high school. Now I can touch type 80 words a minute and have no use for a pen. I can also make a pretty good omelet. :-)
Charlie; I have always had problems with omelets. Someone once told me the secret is a teaspoon of water in the pan and never beat the eggs with milk. Is that right?
Only use milk for scrambled eggs. If you are going to fold your omelet then use 1 tablespoon h2o per egg and beat. I speak from professional experience and costly training. (pre-heat)Medium high heat with oil or spray.
Alright I have 2 opposing viewpoints, I'll just have to have an omelet beat-off. Did I just type that? I did, Sorry. I have a 21 year old son who will quickly and completely consume any and all mistakes as I make them. Maybe Sunday. I'll let you 2 know.
Dave, I think it comes down to preference. I know my way makes a very fluffy omelet. I've never received one like that from a restaurant before. I'm sure Gabor is right when it comes to making a professionally looking one.
If I had to so do they! LOL
If I had to so do they! LOL There are a lot of people left in the world who only write that way. It is still a big part of communication that they need to be able to understand.
Now you've done it....there's
Now you've done it....there's generations of elementary teachers led by a battalion of nuns rising up from the grave with hickory pointers at the ready, on hearing the question of the day.....with out it how could a doctor scribble a prescription, what would happen to all the callouse bumps that develope on ones middle finger from the hours of grueling practice of cursivive in first and second grades....oh, never mind I've just been informed that writing is no longer a required skill it is to be replcaed with texting, tweeting and sexting for the future political leaders.
All joking aside, cursive
All joking aside, cursive writing is an obsolete skill. Besides for a quick post-it note or filling in an order form, who would use the skill? I would replace the time spent teaching cursive writing with mandatory typing class. Times have changed, kids need to know how to print, and type.
When I was in junior high, I
When I was in junior high, I noticed my dad never wrote in cursive, so I stopped writing in cursive.
I can read cursive today (if the writer has good penmanship), but write it? No way. The best I can do is sign my own name in cursive. Beyond that, I print everything (though some who have looked over my shoulder while I scribble notes would question my printing skill).
I took typing my junior year in high school because the week when we were supposed to sign up for classes, my parents took me to Colorado for a vacation. My grandmother registered me for my classes. All the electives I requested were filled, so she signed me up for typing.
That may be the single most fortuitous twist of fate in my life.
BTW: Poll question inspired
BTW: Poll question inspired by curriculum change in Indiana.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110710/NEWS04/107100364/New-standards…
Charlie, I beg to differ. The
Charlie, I beg to differ. The amount of handwritten documentation that I do in my profession is significant. I would guess that my work is not so different from others. I haven't done social work in ages, but last I knew case notes had to be handwritten.
I would also suggest that part of the learning of language is the connection between reading and the physical act of writing. I don't know as that same connection exists with electronically executed writing. ...If one is deprived of electronic device, should some recourse exist for written communication? I suppose penmanship is not essential, but one does want a scribbled call for help to be reasonably clear.
I'm trying hard not to sound sentimental or retrograde, but there is something very personal about one's handwriting that cannot be detected from electronic text- no matter how many fonts, colors and emoticons are available. The concept of a historical break from handwritten communication does not seem like a benchmark worthy of celebration. The historical trail of humanity is fairly consistent given the democratic application of writing skills. It is traced through ephemera such as diaries, logs and letters. How permanent will the digital record be? Will regular format and software changes erase all that preceded it? Will average people save anything for posterity?
Will there ever be another Thank You note or Get Well card written?
...Slightly off-topic: I
...Slightly off-topic: I wonder the same about digital photographs. Up until recently, many homes have photographs of family members from past generations on display. Hoarded in dusty albums are countless photographs. Aside from the faded color, these documents will last for ages. Can we say the same for digital files?
You don't need to write
You don't need to write cursive to send a physical thank you note or get well card.
Though, I must say, on my birthday I received nearly 100 happy birthday wishes on Facebook. I doubt I've received more than a total of 100 birthday cards in my prior 50 years of life. It was very gratifying to receive all of those birthday wishes from friends and family from all over the country. I don't see how the well wishers diminished the message at all by using FB instead of sending a card.
I don't much care if people
I don't much care if people print or if they write - what bothers me is the rampant illiteracy of the kids coming out of school these days. Spelling, grammar - gone by the wayside. I mean like the difference between there, their and they're - kids don't KNOW this kind of stuff any more. It's very sad.
C.M., hard to say for sure
C.M., hard to say for sure what will happen to digital files.
For the written word, Google saves everything, Facebook saves everything, Twitter saves everything, most sites are archived by the Internet archive.
With Flickr, I imagine as long as Flickr is in business, everything will be saved.
The one of advantage of digital is it's cheap and easy to save and store multiple archives of things, especially photos.
Whether machines of the future will be able to retrive these future files is unknown.
And digital files, just like paper files, degrade over time if not properly maintained.
During the Civil War, photos were made on glass plates. These glass plates could be saved FOREVER if properly maintained. Only a fraction of all the photos taken of the war survive. One historian found a green house with panes made from Civil War photos, and only a couple could be salvaged to use for new prints. Many plates were simply discarded after the war. In other words, nothing lasts forever -- not glass, not paper, not metal, not digital.
C.M. - as a Speech
C.M. - as a Speech Pathologist, with educational and Medicaid responsibilities, everything is documented online. From session notes to progress reports and evaluations. Only occasionally is my real signature required, most of the time it is done electronically. It is legible and immediately available to those that need the information. I never use cursive except to sign contracts and paychecks.
I agree with Charlie.
I agree with Charlie. Cursive writing is an obsolete skill. Anything that can be communicated with cursive handwriting can be communicated with printed handwriting. No need to teach both. Time to take the energy used to teach cursive to children and spend it on a skill with more timely application.
CM, jobs where you hand write
CM, jobs where you hand write anything are a dying breed and if you are hand writing documentation that is a significant departure from current main stream business practices. If you are not entering that information into some type of electronic device, that information cannot be brought into a database to be shared, manipulated or searched. Like it or not, that is what society does with data and that isn’t going to change. Much of my work is based on finding IT solutions that bring efficiencies. The first thing you look for is people who still do manual processes and eliminate the need. Sounds like your company needs to hire and efficiency expert.
I agree with Irene, spelling
I agree with Irene, spelling and grammar is becoming more and more atrocious as I age. However, I reject the notion that it's because the schools don't teach it. It's because society has accepted those who don't read, spell or write so good as OK. If one wants to write well and use words properly, they'll learn how, if they don't think it necessary they won't. Making someone write over and over until they get it right won't create a lifelong habit.
I thought this e-mail worth
I thought this e-mail worth sharing. To be clear, everything below this sentence is from Kate Gladstone and none of it is written by me.
<em>
Handwriting matters ... But does cursive matter?
Research shows: the fastest and most legible handwriters avoid cursive. They join only some letters, not all of them: making the easiest joins, skipping the rest, and using print-like shapes for those letters whose cursive and printed shapes disagree. (Citation on request.)
Reading cursive still matters -- this takes just 30 to 60 minutes to learn, and can be taught to a five- or six-year-old if the child knows how to read. The value of reading cursive is therefore no justification for writing it.
Remember, too: whatever your elementary school teacher may have been told by her elementary school teacher, cursive signatures have no special legal validity over signatures written in any other way. (Don't take my word for this: talk to any attorney.)
Yours for better letters,
Kate Gladstone — CEO, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
Director, the World Handwriting Contest
Co-Designer, BETTER LETTERS handwriting trainer app for iPhone/iPad
http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com
6-B Weis Road, Albany, NY 12208-1942 USA </em>
Probably better off spending
Probably better off spending the time to teach them how to balance their check books. Cursive is obsolete.
Why don't we focus on the
Why don't we focus on the more important aspects of learning; such as spelling, constructing FULL and COMPLETELY spelled out words and sentences, basic math, reading skills, socialization, the alphabet, american history, and so on; before we worry about what their letters look like.
Howard, that is exactly how I
Howard, that is exactly how I learned to type. I moved to a new school district and my mother signed me up for classes. To my horror, she put me in a typing and a home economics class, made up of all girls. That ended up being the most useful year in high school. Now I can touch type 80 words a minute and have no use for a pen. I can also make a pretty good omelet. :-)
I think we're going to need
I think we're going to need proof of the omlet statement, Charlie. :-)
Charlie; I have always had
Charlie; I have always had problems with omelets. Someone once told me the secret is a teaspoon of water in the pan and never beat the eggs with milk. Is that right?
Dave, I add milk and beat the
Dave, I add milk and beat the crap out of those eggs. I think the key is low heat and keeping them covered. Perfect every time.
Only use milk for scrambled
Only use milk for scrambled eggs. If you are going to fold your omelet then use 1 tablespoon h2o per egg and beat. I speak from professional experience and costly training. (pre-heat)Medium high heat with oil or spray.
Alright I have 2 opposing
Alright I have 2 opposing viewpoints, I'll just have to have an omelet beat-off. Did I just type that? I did, Sorry. I have a 21 year old son who will quickly and completely consume any and all mistakes as I make them. Maybe Sunday. I'll let you 2 know.
Dave, I think it comes down
Dave, I think it comes down to preference. I know my way makes a very fluffy omelet. I've never received one like that from a restaurant before. I'm sure Gabor is right when it comes to making a professionally looking one.