I recently read in the Denver Post that Cursive could be an endangered species. Some schools are replacing pencil and paper with keyboard and computer screen as the primary skill set for putting letters and words together in a coherent fashion.
When was the last time you wrote anything, other than signing a credit card tab?
My own hand-writing skills, never considered at all graceful, have deteriorated as my use of computers and other devices has increased.
Do kids really need to know how to write with pencil and paper? That's the question being discussed by teachers, students and parents; likely by e-mail or texting.
My wife and I make regular use of Facetime to visit with the grandkids when we can't be with them in person. But we're also starting to write to our grand daughter who is finishing kindergarten. Writing, literally or at least printing using real paper and sending it to her through the mail. (Hopefully she writes back!)
The goal is to help her as she learns to read and write. Both our grandkids are comfortable with computers and devices like the iPad. They've never known a world without this technology.
I was talking, actually e-mailing with a friend yesterday. He said he still likes to send personal hand-written notes to people. He believes there's still a place for a human touch, especially in communication. Hard to disagree with that.
So what's the need for Cursive? The flame isn't out, but certainly starting to flicker. In our digital world, do we need Cursive? Maybe no--unless the power goes out.
Something to ponder.
Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"
It's odd that this is such a new post. I have not written (as opposed to printing) in years. For no apparent reason, when I opened my notebook this morning, (I still carry a leather-bound notebook and a fountain pen virtually everywhere I go) I used cursive to take some notes for the day. My writing has gotten shaky and stilted, but it is actually legible. Unfortunately, with close to two decades separating today and the last time I wrote anything, I needed a primer on how to form a few letters... which led me to this blog. Writing is NOT dead!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI thank you for the blog, as it's a reminder to me at least of how important it is to pass the torch and to continue to do things the way they've been done for centuries. I'm in IT by trade, and spend much of my time behind TWO computer monitors, yet I shave with a safety razor and mug soap, write with a fountain pen, and try to find other more simple ways of doing things to ground me to my non-technical roots.