I vividly remember, many moons ago, having my little 8 year old heart race after Christmas break, third grade. It was like any other normal Monday- salt clung to my Kmart snowboots, I took my knit cap off to the glowing rage of "static hair", back before I discovered Sprunch Spray, and hung it up in my shared locker next to my winter coat and brand new matching scarf and mitton set. Something was going to be "different" today- Mrs. Talcroft had mentioned to us since early September that "after winter break, we would be learning something new". I was always up for the challenge of learning "sumthin new", but it was usually met with a tinge of anxiety, apprehension.
"Class, I have placed a fresh sheet of printing line paper on each of your desks. Please take out your #2 pencils, make sure they are sharpened, and today, we are going to begin our lesson in cursive writing."
Cursive writing.
"Class, I have placed a fresh sheet of printing line paper on each of your desks. Please take out your #2 pencils, make sure they are sharpened, and today, we are going to begin our lesson in cursive writing."
Cursive writing.
Just like the "big kids" wrote. Just like I saw my parents write when they had to sign papers for school, our grocery store account receipt, and anything from the government.
Would I be up for the challenge? It was difficult to comprehend because for the first 3 years of my structured educational existance, I learned, and mastered quite satisfactorily, the standard American Block form of handwriting and print. My "K's" might as well have been drafted by a T-square ruler- NO ONE could put the little line in the "Q's" quite as nifty as myself. I remember getting an "E" for "Excellent" on my report cards in handwriting, but now, all of that was going to fall by the wayside for something new- something more challenging. But we never questioned the new turn of events in our educational curriculum. Because at 8 years old, we were about to learn something that almost reflected some kind of ritualistic passage into higher learning. Soon after cursive, we would be writing book reports, having to draft mock letters to our congressmen, go to the blackboard and write answers to oral exams...ALL IN CURSIVE PRINT!
Not surprisingly, there has been a lot of talk in the news as of late about whether or not this artistic form of writing should even be taught. "Let's face it, kids these days really don't USE it anymore, so why waste valuable "standardized testing" study time on something that will get lost on them as they get older? And quite frankly, I'm quite open for the debate! I recall about 2 years ago my youngest daughter doing her homework. She asked her older sister to help her with something, and somehow, in between calling each other a "jackass" and "doucher" (where do they get this behavior?), my beloved eldest mentioned, half non-chalantly, about "why are you even writing in cursive anymore? You won't HAVE to once you get to high school!"
That statement started me thinking about the "importance" of taking the time to teach our younger generations a writing technique that has lasted for centuries. I mean, let's face it, how often do we, as adults, actually hand WRITE anything anymore, unless it's to sign our life away? If it's not something that can be electronically transferred via a keyboard, then how important can it really be? Over the years, my handwriting has suffered immensely due to lack of usage. My oldest daugher, BRILLIANT beyond any comprehension, has an almost indecipherable handwriting, which is NOT cursive FYI. I used to strain to read her notes when I would help her study for tests and wonder how, ON EARTH, her teachers could read her handwriting. But the arguement can be made that even in written cursive, it varies from person to person so much that where one person is considered to have mastered impecible penmanship, another's looks like cave writings from the stone age.
We live in a society that "easier has GOT to be BETTER". I mean honestly, why take the time to teach young children a way of writing when it's OBVIOUSLY going to be lost on them by 9th grade? Just make a barbaric "X", written in red crayon, an acceptable means of a personal signature. With technology out inventing itself by leaps and bounds, why not use that valuable 3rd-4th grade teaching time to teach how to update your Facebook status or get your innermost feelings across in 140 characters or less, since that seems to be the "norm".
I suppose, while we are at it, we could also stop teaching basic arithmatic skills since we have calculators smarter than NASA to figure out simple addition and multiplication for us- available at any neighborhood CVS.
And really, why learn about the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt? Or Ancient Egypt for that matter? Who really is ever going to be able to GO there? Or even appreciate their existance?
I really don't recall ever needing to know spherical trigonometry past Mrs. Snelling's 12th grade pre-Trig class, or having to know what the periodic table symbol for Scandium was unless Otto Hoffman was having a pop quiz that day.
My point being- where is the challenge? So what if we are eventually going to "forget" or "not need" the information anymore? It was a right of passage (or "write" of passage if I wanted to get really cheeky) from being one of the "little"kids to being taken a little more seriously as a student, when Mrs. Talcroft told us to sharpen those #2's. I remember struggling the first few weeks, but practicing until I had it down fairly well. I remember penning one of my first creative writing poems in "big kid cursive", and feeling a sense of accomplishment, not just for the poetry, but for how it was written. I remember getting my social security card in the 5th grade (yea, damn, back in the day when it took awhile to encode you with your permanent life marker) and actually having to SIGN it in cursive. Nothing made me feel more official.
So do I write in cursive anymore?
Not really. I find myself writing a few things here and there in cursive format, but printing when it starts looking unreadable.
But I learned it.
Just like I learned about the Council of Trent and how to properly and safely use a bandsaw.
Just like I learned to dribble a basketball in PE and bake a pineapple upside down cake.
I learned to use paper mache but I'm not an artist.
I learned musical notation but never made it as a composer.
I found writing a theme about Harry Truman boring, but I discovered the joys of creative expression, even without having become a famous author.
Technology is a blessing and curse. Before we take what was basic education and turn it into a thing of the past, make sure our children at least know how they can voice their opinion- write to someone to complain.
Preferably in cursive
