It is time that we finally stop teaching cursive handwriting in schools. It deserves no place in the curriculum. What is the point of taking up so much valuable time in teaching a skill that will not be used. Instead, why not get serious about making sure children develop effective touch typing skills?How many schools in Maine still require that cursive writing be taught?
What are your thoughts? Disagree? Agree?
Wikipedia: Cursive, Penmanship
Touch Typing - Cursive - Why?
4 comments:
No, no,no. Just because you can operate a car or a plane should not take the place or the value of walking. Perhaps I thinking this way because I see great beauty and expression in cursive itself. Students should learn many ways to express themselves. We (teachers, adults, communities of humans) should value more than the ease of reading type. People should be able to write anywhere, and value the writing not the form. (Although I value hand written notes above keyed ones!) If we don't teach it, that can't happen. I think the idea of only accepting perfectly conforming text really jars my creative side... my human side.
Will 2010 introduce the end of the signature? Will we no longer sign contracts or credit card slips? How will we actually verify our legal self? I understand that touch typing is a critical skill, I taught it for many, many years, but we must not overlook the importance and power of being able to write in cursive.
I believe we should continue to teach cursive writing as one method of expression, but I realize, too, that the days of handwritten themes and reports are gone. If we're going to require our students type many of their assignments, we need to add keyboarding instruction to the curriculum by the fourth grade. The questions, then, are where will the money come from to fund it, and where will we find the time in the day to teach it?
We could teach it instead of high stake testing... which we spend to much time and money on (she says with an evil grin!!!).
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