Why Johnny Can't Handwrite 1356
theodp writes "Handwriting experts fear that the wild popularity of e-mail and IM, particularly among kids, could erase cursive within a few decades. With 90 percent of Americans between the ages of 5 and 17 using computers, it's not uncommon for kids to type 20-30 WPM by the time they leave elementary school. Keyboards, joysticks and cell-phone touch pads have ruined kids' ability to hold a pencil properly, let alone write legibly, says the former president of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting."
Thumbs (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want kids to be able to write by hand, you just have to force them to do it in school. If you let them type everything, they will. Of course, this isn't likely to happen on a wide scale; educators don't get paid enough to care.
I hate writing with pen and paper... (Score:4, Interesting)
(My handwriting was terrible even before I started working on computers...)
Is this not a good thing? (Score:2, Interesting)
But as far as actually writing your own notes, one should still be able to write on paper and be able to understand their own handwriting. I don't see the art of physically writing going away anytime soon.
I've already forgotten it.. (Score:3, Interesting)
It seems more difficult to read handwritten papers that are written with cursive. I guess I never really saw a speed advantage in cursive, and add the fact that I can type much faster on the keyboard than I can write by hand, this hardly seems like a surprise.
I can't really say I feel my education would have been compromised if cursive had been left out.
teach them to use chop-sticks as a suplement... (Score:4, Interesting)
If you're unfamiliar with chopsticks, one of the two sticks is held essentially the same as a pencil. Getting decent with chopsticks uses some of the same dexerity skills, and if kid's aren't writing much on paper, at least it'll keep them from being completely atrophied in this regard.
just a thought...
.
Don't schools still have handwriting classes? (Score:3, Interesting)
That said, cursive looks nice and all, but it's a lot more difficult to read it than it is to read plain print. I still remember my cursive (for thank you notes and letters to grandparents, etc.) but when writing anything by hand I just use print -- and of course it's not as if I never need to write anything. A sticky note on my alarm clock is much more useful than a sticky note on my computer desktop. Either way, I don't think there's going to be a mass exodus away from use of the pencil anytime soon.
-- shayborg
I stopped long ago myself. (Score:3, Interesting)
It was two more years before we got the TI 99/4A at home, so they can't blame the computer for me.
So? (Score:4, Interesting)
So yeah, maybe it will die out. But the question really is should we care?
Why do we need handwriting? (Score:3, Interesting)
When I was in elementary school... (Score:2, Interesting)
I can understand this... (Score:3, Interesting)
When I entered the public school ranks at grade 3, I was already behind in handwriting, and was never able to catch up. I can type at a sustained 90+WPM now with no errors, while I can only write by hand at something around 15-20 WPM - much slower than I can think. Additionally, since I pretty much had to teach myself to use a pencil, I apparently use it in a bad way and get painful hand cramps after an hour of writing.
As more and more kids are learning to type and word process earlier (and as more schools insist on typed reports and/or have computers in the classroom) it seems quite apparent that handwriting skills will decline.
So, what's the problem with this? I can still write well enough to take notes for my own purposes, and if I'm writing something for someone else, I'm going to type it up (and email it, or even just write up a memo). I don't necessarily see the decline of handwriting as a horrible tragedy, simply a shift to new methods - consider, calligraphy died out years ago (except among artists) and no one shed a tear.
-T
What Cursive? (Score:5, Interesting)
I ended up just printing it and going back and connecting the letters randomly because it was so much faster and looked plausable enough anyways -- better than taking the time to try and write proper cursive.
Even my signature is *barely* cursive...only about half of the letters are real "cursive" letters, and maybe 2-3 of the connections are done properly. And I don't even have a very long name...it's 8 letters total in my signature, first AND last names.
Re:absurd (Score:3, Interesting)
When I take notes it's in my cross of scribbling and printing. It works for ME. It's not something that anyone else can really decipher.
Perspective. (Score:2, Interesting)
Point being, pens are tools to convey our thoughts and feelings. They are also being replaced by the personal computer.
It would be a shame... (Score:3, Interesting)
Not critical (Score:3, Interesting)
Obviously, some sort of writing-by-hand is still a necessary skill. If you're trying to take notes in class or a presentation which include diagrams, tables, complex equations, etc., I haven't found a computer interface that can match a pen and paper for speed and expressiveness. And post-it notes will always be around (how many times have you seen one stuck to a computer screen?). The teacher's point about handwritten letters being much more meaningful is a good one.
But bad handwriting isn't some new problem that has been introduced by widespread computer use. Worsened, perhaps, but I have ancient joke collection books that have the one about a doctor's prescription note being used for its intended purpose, then as a train pass for a year, and finally played on the violin.
There are plenty of people that just weren't going to have good handwriting anyway, and then there are people like my friend's father, who labels floppies using careful Medieval calligraphy (inkwell and all, IIRC). It will continue to be like that. The sort of people who send handwritten letters because they mean more will continue to do so.
Writing should and doubtless will still be taught, but I don't think it's a problem if it's slightly de-emphasized in favor of keyboarding skills, which are more relevant. When I was in elementary school, no one was typing their papers, but now almost everyone is (in this part of the U.S., anyway). The bulk of communications will probably be done via a keyboard (or some newer device) rather than handwriting. And not without reason; some of the kids' quotes in that article are dead on. Rough drafts in pencil (and rewriting twice in ink) royally sucked.
Re:Who cares? (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.peterson-handwriting.com/animCrsvCap/Q
For the billy madison person, capital Z is:
http://www.peterson-handwriting.com/animCrsvCap/Z
Printing (Score:5, Interesting)
I was always told that writing cursive is faster than printing, which I now hear has been pretty much disproven. Most people will do a form of cursive-ish writing when printing something quickly, and it's faster because they aren't tied down by a bunch of meaningless codified rules that tell them what's fastest for them to write.
Cursive is a moronic system. I've always hated it. The sooner it's abolished from everything except the hobbiest's view, the better.
Palm destroyed my handwriting. (Score:3, Interesting)
I look back at high school papers I wrote by hand, and I can barely believe how far I've fallen in 20 years. Handwriting is a long-lost art, for me.
Uniquely American?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Begging your pardon ? Cursive writing is "Uniquely American" ??
Kids of today? Kids of yesterday. (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other hand I can write very fast and pretty accuratly as well. It takes me under 10 minutes to fill a side of A4 (~500 words or so) with words that make sense - a skill I _had_ to develop for exams. One of my economics A level papers required about 8 sides of answers in two hours. (That seriously kills your hands folks!) I was perfectly capable of writing in cursive before leaving primary school however, spending several hours a day playing with computers didn't make me forget what I had been taught.
If these kids can't write in cursive however, because they are too stupid to learn it or remember it, what can they possibly write that will be of any use?
At least with the proliferation of computers kids are _reading_ and practicing reading - a far more useful thing than writing. After all, if you can learn to read you can find a book that tells you how to write.
What shouldn't be allowed is the continuing trivialisation of computers - the idea that they are there for nothing but entertainment. There are people in this world who don't actually realise that the black box they use every day can be hacked to make it do far more interesting and fun things, to make it do what you want better or faster. Common perception of people who do hack around is that they are doing something wrong, not something right! This IMO is far more dangerous than any slip in percieved handwriting ability in children and corrected as soon as possible..
Why cursive is good. (Score:2, Interesting)
It does not solve writing script TOO fast and making garbage of what should look like script.
It doesn't solve the problem for those who write manuscript faster than script.
Re:Who cares? (Score:3, Interesting)
I wholeheartedly agree. What am I saying? Ayone who has read freshmen papers lately can attest that it is already having an effect!
Moreover it might be a good thing for students to be allowed an alternative to cursive. I was forced to write exclusively in it from first grade on (I was at an experimental school), and hated it since it took me forever to form the letters, and demanded an inordinate amount of my attention. Moreover, it wasn't until I started typing papers (this was before affordable computers) that I was able to express myself quickly enought to produce intelligent essays. I was able to convince my department to allow me to type my PhD comprehensives since I warned them that anything I handwrote would be a feeble reflection of my abilities. And it was the truth.
And don't even get me started about the utility of spellcheckers. While they have their dangers, for slight dyslexics such as myself they have been a godsend!
Cursive is a massive waste of time. (Score:3, Interesting)
For me printing has always been faster - even when I write legibly (admittedly less often than not). All the curlicues and squiggles just to have your writing look like the Declaration of Independence? There's exactly zero (0) point to it.
High School Student's Opinion (Score:2, Interesting)
There's no way to use a computer on those things.
And then the AP tests -- those HAVE to be handwritten.
In AP US we were reading Xeroxes of past year's essays -- the ones that were harder to read were the ones in cursive, simply because of the damn loops.
I've noticed the loss of cursive, however. In taking the SAT some months ago, when asked to copy the honor phrase ("I certify that this is my test" stuff), with the explicit order "DO NOT PRINT" in the box, the whole room broke out in a self-concious laughter, as we had to think carefully on how to write in cursive, as opposed to printing.
And, because I hate to do it on the computer, all my MATH homework is done by hand. (equations are still icky to set up. Much nicer just to draw the damn integral)
The upshoot of it all?
Handwriting is a huge facet in the lives of high school students. It will stay that way.
Do I bemoan the loss of cursive? No.
Do I fear a loss of handwriting? No.
Is there a problem here? No.
Case closed.
(and who in the world liked that D'Nealian or whatever that my grade school taught before cursive? *shudder*)
Re:Printing (Score:2, Interesting)
There's just one tiny drawback, I'm the only person who can read it. But that's a problem with your character recognition, not my writing :)
Unnecessary (Score:2, Interesting)
When I started work about 15 years ago, we had to give a handwritten spec to a typist who would enter it into a word processor, print it, return it and I would proof read it and then return it with corrections. She would then photocopy it and distribute it to everyone on the list.
Making an amendment was a similar process. Now, I can change the spec myself and circulate it by email.
I think I spent longer proofreading than it takes me to make the changes now.
Cool article. (Score:2, Interesting)
My current "handwriting" If you want to call it that, like most people, is an individual style, developed as a mix between what I can read again later, and what's most comfortable to write. It would certainly flunk me out of any penmanship class.. but most people could read it without too much difficulty, especially if I intend it to be for them.
I never write a capital E properly.. it looks more like a backwards 3 with a little leading curl on top... my capital D has no proper slanted lines.. just curves. And so on... Many of the letters don't fall into any known official writing system, but I guarantee you would recognize them anyway.
I guess what I'm saying is, in the end, there are two types of handwriters in our society: those who write for the sake of reading it back later, who invariably develop their own style, and those who adhere to an official writing standard.
For instance, a while back I took it upon myself to improve my handwriting. It's going okay, it just takes lots of practice. I picked up a Spencerian Handwriting tutorial.. now Spencerian is not the Italic or Cursive or whatever we were taught in school. it's what our grandfathers and great grandfathers were taught in school. And you know what? It's NOT hard! Yes, I struggle with it, but that's due to my aforementioned difficulties with pen and paper... It's extremely logical, and it's a system.. where every letter is composed of more or less seven basic skills (curves, lines, etc). It becomes easy to remember the logical way to make any letter, and the eye can tell if it actually looks right when written. If you havent' seen it, properly written spencerian is both easy to read and very pleasing to the eye. It's also designed for a fountain pen with a spencerian nib.. but I actaully find it easier to write with a fountain pen than a ballpoint, I just like the way it actually lets me feel the texture of the paper, I think.
So it got me thinking: From what I recall of learning to handwrite at an early age, it was boring. They didn't tell us anything about different styles, or that there was more than one way to write, or that in the future it woudln't even matter.. they just went ahead and showed us one thing. Now.. why don't we get back and take penmahship seriously? When you start teaching handwriting, pick something like spencerian. Teach them to write beautifully, not just to write. Or at least put people through a mandatory course in highschool, even just a couple days a week, on penmanship. Let them pick what style they want, but make them study it.
And then I think, does it matter? I do 90% of my work on computers, the only writing I do is a note to myself throughout the day on a notepad, or a quick post-it to someone else. And I type around 100wpm.... so writing serves no real practical purpose, other than as a hobby, I guess.
Now, my writing still sucks, but it's getting there.
I write in engineer, like my dad (Score:4, Interesting)
I learned cursive but abandoned it in favor of block print. Our cursie was "Daneelean??" and very suited to being a 3rd grader, but I didn't feel it was...professional.
Re:This may be true..... (Score:2, Interesting)
I never had neat handwriting, ever... But since getting a PDA (IPaq 3950), with what I thing is very good recognition software, my handwriting has improved immensely. In fact it is now legible, and still improving.
Mike
Re:What's on the back of YOUR credit card? (Score:1, Interesting)
Architectural Drafting (HAND) (Score:4, Interesting)
By the time I had gotten to high school I had drawn every last thing in that book many many times.
During all this time - learning drafting - I perfected manually writing at 1/8" text.
I haven't been able to write in cursive since grade or middle school. I can ONLY write in block text.
I can actually write each individual letter in cursive still - although I just am terrible at getting them to connect well.
so its not just computers and such, but more how you actually practice writing for the forative years that will have impact.
Re:So...? (Score:5, Interesting)
BTW, my local public school system dropped it altogether from the elementary curriculum several years back - apart from a few predictable hysterical letters to the editor, gone in a week, nobody noticed.
Where is the loss? (Score:2, Interesting)
The only possible threat I see to this tech-dependence is the possible threat of massive power failures. But honestly, we don't even need to be literate to have fun in life, and I doubt those power failures would last long anyhow. At least the kids will continue to draw. No technology will take away that interest from them, nor any current or near-future fansy new input devices can replace paper and pen yet (yeah, there's the Wacom tablets, but it's not the same, most importantly, the fashion of art doesn't necessarily evolve that way).
-N
Why I Prefer Both Cursive and Typing (Score:5, Interesting)
I learned cursive writing in the regular Canadian school system. Back in my grade 4-6 days I was always getting bad marks on cursive writing so my parents requested that the school give me extra exercises on that subject. As a result, I developed very legible, artful cursive writing. It's many years later now and I'm in university (Engineering), but if I pick up a nice Sanford Uni-Ball Vision Micro pen, I can still do it.
I am also a serious user of typing. As a side effect of learning the alphabet through computer games (thanks to a techie dad), I learned to type before I learned to do regular printing in grade 1. Another side effect was that early on, I could type the alphabet but not know how to pronounce any of the letters. Even as I was learning to write cursively, I could type much more rapidly and accurately than people twice my age: 30 wpm by age 6, 50 wpm by age 12, now 100+ wpm in university (assuming I'm in the groove where I can think at 100 wpm.)
Why I prefer Cursive:
Cursive writing is more of an artform to me as well as a tool to enforce certain frames of mind. If I am in a class that requires right brain thought (typically anything that requires critical thought in relation to someone else's non-technical writing) I will use the cursive. It helps keep me in the right-brained frame of mind. My thoughts flow onto the page. When I write something in cursive, it's flowing onto a piece of paper from my pen. It's written there in stone and you can't erase it. (No, white-out does not count.) What I have written there is a reflection of myself that is expressed through words and the physical characteristics of what I have put down onto the paper. Because cursive is like art, a lot more thought goes into what I stroke down onto the paper. It makes me think at a higher level and use my brain more effectively.
And Now The Case For Typing:
Typing is incredibly useful to me because of its utility and flexibility. As the girl in the article mentioned, you can easily fix mistakes with a backspace ( or ^H ;-). The main benefit of typing is that whatever you create is infinitely replicable. If your dog eats your homework, you print off another copy. It can be instantly formatted, transmitted, stored, replicated, processed and so on. The difference between handwriting and typing is like the difference between a Band's Live Performance and the CD. You can't perfectly duplicate that piece of paper with your personal pen strokes on it. But you can copy that OpenOffice file to a web server. (And yes, I do use OO.org.)
The main thing that you lose with typing is the separation of personal effort from the results of that effort. You don't see the emotion and streaks of ink on your word processor. It's the difference between sending a "Blue Mountain E-Card" where you personally wrote the greeting for someone's birthday, and sending a Personally Written Hallmark Card with the same greeting. The effort and thoughtfulness comes through with physical card but not the e-card.
The Moral of the Story. (According To Me, Anyway.)
I say that the typing separates emotion/effort from content but with the added value of making something highly utilitarian. You can't replicate the paper, but that makes it all the more precious.
I say that the purposes for writing and typing do not entirely overlap, and thus neither will cancel out the other any time soon.
You still need handwriting in much of Asia. (Score:5, Interesting)
This is especially true in China and Japan, where both languages uses thousands of unique characters for the written language. Because of this situation, these two languages are not easily adopted for computer use, though the Japanese have tried with special keyboards and the JIS, Shift-JIS and EUC character sets. Is it small wonder why low-coast fax machines first took off in popularity in Asia, because it was in many ways faster to write up a handwritten note in Japanese and fax it to another location than to use a Japanese language keyboard to create the characters and then send the message electronically?
Besides, writing Chinese and Japanese characters is still considered a revered art form in Asia. That's why a lot of art exhibitions in China and Japan show the masterful art of calligraphy, especially writing characters with brushes.
Re:What Cursive? (Score:3, Interesting)
I earned a degree in engineering about 5 years ago from a major university with a well-regarded engineering program. As part of the required classes for all engineering students, I took a general engineering class which actually focused on handwriting. And remember all those rules your elementary school teacher taught you? Well, forget them. Example: Remember being told not to make your 8's as to seperate circles (the "snowman")? As an engineering student I was told precisely the opposite. Needless to say, this course forever changed the way I write.
Occasionally I find something that I wrote by hand prior to being taught how to write "like an engineer". It is scary.
Anyone else get re-taught how to write at the university level?
its history (Score:2, Interesting)
Cursive == Useless (Score:3, Interesting)
So cursive goes the way of the microfiche? Good riddance. I'll be happy the day they take it out of schools, and start using that time to teach kids something useful with it instead. (I mean, not like they will, but there's always hope, right?) Typing is faster, easier to read, and takes far less time to learn.
Good luck finding new jobs, all ye who work at the Society for Cursive Writing.
Re:Thumbs (Score:2, Interesting)
educators don't get paid enough to care.
Ahem, for a person who has a well-developed moral code, pay and caring are unrelated. Most teachers care very much. We're just not able to do much because of the financial situation -- that's why most who can leave the profession. We care enough to consider questions carefully, and weigh the relative importance of various ideas and initiatives. And frankly, next to learning proper reasoning skills, reflective reading skills, and persuasive writing skills, cursive handwriting (as long as students can print) is, well not very important.
Personally, I thought cursive was stupid while I was learning it. "You just taught me to write one way, why are you teaching me another?". I refused to learn it any more than necessary for the relevant assessments, and would need one of those desk-strips if I were asked to write cursive today. I also don't know how to wash clothes with a washboard. And I don't feel one shred of guilt about either one.
Re:Uniquely American?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Back on topic, based on the accumulated speech differences between American and English, I would bet that cursive writing in the two is isn't identical.
Re:Thumbs (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Thumbs (Score:3, Interesting)
Opposable thumbs and palms. (Score:4, Interesting)
What I find more disturbing is that I occasionally find myself using Graffiti symbols instead of the actual block letters.
Re:So what? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Printed signatures (Score:5, Interesting)
There's another Urban legend in the USA that states you have to write your first and last names in full on a signature. This is also false.
Me, I write my first and middle initials and my last name in full - all in cursive. At the end stick a Tengwar rune which is my initial. Yeah, I'm a geek
And in other (equally disturbing) news (Score:2, Interesting)
And most of us don't know how to throw a spear at a woolly mammoth either...
Some skills used to be important, but not anymore. I've read some very plausible sci-fi [amazon.com] with advanced civilizations where most people don't know how to read or write at all, but it's not a problem.
people don't use chisels anymore either (Score:4, Interesting)
As for the methods younger people, and older people employ to write, who cares again? Again, language changes and English is certainly the most mutatable language in the world. It's supposed to change.
Has anyone noticed that no one writes an f as the first s in any word? No. Who cares? Other than the President of that association.
Re:Why I Prefer Both Cursive and Typing (Score:1, Interesting)
La salud de los enfermos
by Julio CortÃzar
An infirm mother is noting that her son has written to her by typewriter instead of by hand; she is commenting on the lack of respect that this implies -- she would never have written to her parents on such a machine. It turns out that she (probably) recognizes that it's a forgery. Her son is dead, and it's unclear if she knows that at this point in the story. This, however, is largely a different matter.
A few comments:
Handwriting is something distinctly human, not simply "a uniquely American form of expression".
This story was written in Argentina over 30 years ago. The fear of losing this form of expression is nothing new. Today, we're just seeing the proliferation of typewritten material from younger and younger people. This bothers people. And rightly so? I agree with this thread's author that "typing separates emotion/effort from content". Yet, I'd like to add to that that typing also removes much/some of the individual character we might otherwise bring to our writing. An extreme case of this is the very authenticity of the document.
Re:High School Student's Opinion (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:In other news... (Score:4, Interesting)
While this is a funny comment, in reality, scientists have demonstrated that physically forming letters when writing, at least during early years, is crucial to understanding writing skills.
Kids who only learned keyboarding did suffer in their abilities.
So yes, this is a bad thing folks.
Not a good enough reason, I think (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of people can write more legibly when printing, and this is often more important in creating the impression of a good writer (and when you're writing for someone who is grading 90 papers, the impression can be as important as the writing itself - especially if the actual writing isn't that good), just as good grammar and spelling do.
Not that this particularly will matter. Typing is more efficient and easier to read. I can't think of any reason why computers won't replace pen and paper for essay examinations; it would certainly make it easier on everybody. Possibly the only reason that this has not yet happened is because the cost isn't low enough - but it will certainly be low enough in the fullness of time.
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Interesting)
When it was a living language, the world's population was tiny and the literacy rate microscopic. The literate of ancient Babylon are far outnumbered by the linguistics undergraduates who study cuneiform today.
Re:Thumbs - needs improvement (Score:2, Interesting)
ham radio ruined my cursive, when I was a kid (Score:4, Interesting)
so at a very early age, I started to lose my ability to handwrite. then a few years later I got my first computer (trs 80) and from then on, even my schoolwork was done with a printer (dot matrix!) and very little was hand-written.
I'm now over 40 and still have to think about how to write those checks out - where you have to -write- the amount of the check in cursive
well, its trading one skill for another. I don't mind all that much - but it is interesting to see such a big change in skillsets in such a short amount of time.
Re:Shoelaces (Score:3, Interesting)
This is what I don't understand. Why does "writing" automatically mean cursive, as opposed to "enscribing characters on a surface"???
When I write something, be it a letter, directions somewhere, or some note, i use "printed" letters instead of cursive letters, but i'm still writing. I'm still using a pen or pencil.
So of course your friend in grade seven could write; he wasn't illiterate. He just didn't write in cursive.
Oh, and most of those zip up basketball shoes have laces underneath. You tie them, then zip the laces up inside. I guess so you don't trip on them, or they don't come untied.
Cursive? What about grammer and structure? (Score:4, Interesting)
Well I'm dyslexic... (Score:1, Interesting)
Also my Mum taught me joined-up handwriting one summer - the old fashioned way with joined-up fs, gs, ys even x and s so I can write a whole word and not break the flow.
I got some of my exams transcribed (written out again by the special needs teacher) until my geography teacher said that my writing was more legible (if a bit less neat) than Mrs Bells.
So I think learning joined-up writing is very important for some people. Typing kills my train of thought as I get stuck in the spelling all the time.
Islay
In Soviet Russia (Score:3, Interesting)
I must admit, though, that my own cursive skills are somewhat lucking. When I use handwriting, I tend to use Palm Graffiti instead...
Keyboards are not the cause (Score:2, Interesting)
I've been happy since then, never looked back. Handwriting can never approach the keyboard. Handwriting is way too slow, even for the best of them. No worries folks, you only need to learn basic handwriting and then you should concentrate (and I mean concentrate, don't be sloppy about it) on learning touch typing. If you end up as a programmer it'll take your productivity to a totally different level.
Handwriting enforces logical thinking (Score:3, Interesting)
Now I don't doubt that for most written work, I end up with a better result the word-processed way. And many people never need to write anything longer than a birthday card by hand. But the mental skill of being able to develop a proper argument as you go along is essential in many other ways. I'm thinking of SPEAKING.
Maybe I'm just an old fogey (and I'm not even 30) but it seems to me that kids today have a much harder time having a proper conversation than they used to. They seem to have a 5-word cap on sentences. ("And he was like, yes. And I was like, no. So I said, hi. You what? Oh My God!") Now I'm studying law and I need to be able to stand up in court and make an improvised speech that will persuade a judge and jury, so I'm having to learn those skills back over.
Re:Shoelaces (Score:4, Interesting)
Why bother? There are plenty of nice, dressy loafers on the market...
IMHO, both good penmanship and the ability to tie a bow knot are destined for obsolescence. They're simply not needed by the majority of our society any more. This isn't necessarily a bad thing! How many of you can churn butter? Tie knots other than bow knots, and know which to use when? Whittle? Perform basic carpentry, or masonry? Care for and ride a horse? Tan leather?
Tons of skills which used to be part of everyday life have fallen into disuse, simply because most people don't need to do them any more. And tons of new skills are aquired to fit the new needs. It's called progress.
I'm a writer. . . (Score:3, Interesting)
And the only way I can really write, as opposed to rewriting or editing, is to write on notebook paper with pencil, in cursive. That's really the only time I use it, but I'm glad I know it. And I want my progeny to know it, too, if only because more knowledge is never a bad thing.
Cyrillic (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm glad cursive is dying (Score:3, Interesting)
It is vestigial, useful only for signatures. This is the only time in my life, since elementary school, that I have used cursive writing.
There are lots of good reasons that have already been posted. It is very difficult to read. It is not very faster than printing. It serves no use.
My grandmother used to be a shorthand expert (worked decades as a secretary, in the age before dictation machines). Shorthand is now dead. It has been made obsolete. Cursive will soon follow.
In elementary school, in the early 1980's, there was a fad that swept through, with yet another writing system: Denelian! This was some kind of hybrid between printing and cursive. It was supposed to be easier to learn than cursive, used as a stepping stone after children learned printing. Instead, it combined the disadvantages of both! Fortunately this fad died out after a few years.
Standard printing is easy to read and easy to write. It is easy to learn. It is just as effective at communicating information as cursive, if not more so. Isn't that what writing is supposed to do?
I dance on the grave of cursive!