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Comment Missing the point, methinks. (Score 1) 857

by Antarctic Pirates (#29487369) Attached to: Cursive Writing Is a Fading Skill — Does It Matter?
The main point is about writing by hand in general and losing those skills over time, really. First cursive, then printing. The article brings up cursive as the precurser to a loss in handwriting skills, basically. Oh, but what's my point right? What with progress and whatnot. Well, imagine being in a situation where you are away from a computer or text-like device and needed to write something. If you couldn't accurately write something with pen/pencil and paper, you'd be totally boned. And unlike pencil and paper, computer files/texts can get corrupted. Or even lost if there's a power outtage. So really, losing cursive skills is something to be concerned about.
Communications

Cursive Writing Is a Fading Skill — Does It Matter? 857

Posted by kdawson from the something's-gained-and-something's-lost dept.
antdude sends along an AP piece on the decline of the teaching of cursive writing in schools — ramifications of which we've discussed a few times before. "The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. In 2011, the writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress will require 8th and 11th graders to compose on computers, with 4th graders following in 2019. ... Handwriting is increasingly something people do only when they need to make a note to themselves rather than communicate with others, [an educator] said. Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting. 'I am not sure students have a sense of any reason why they should vest their time and effort in writing a message out manually when it can be sent electronically in seconds.'"

Comment Space exploration has been happening... (Score 1) 108

by Antarctic Pirates (#29480835) Attached to: Crew For Final Scheduled Space Shuttle Mission Selected
What's with the "space race is over, now it's time for the space exploration race"? We've been exploration space for decades, people. 'Exploration' does not SPECIFICALLY mean going out into space and physically exploring it with our bodies. Exploration is gaining a better understanding of something through scientific means (such as space probes, cameras, satellites, and robots), which is something that is not at all new. The race that will be starting would be more of a "who can land a dude on another planet first" kind of race. Granted, it's still exploration - just not the only kind.

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