I remember what seems like not-so-long ago when people wrote, by hand. What happened? People don’t seem to write anymore. I’m not even ‘writing’ now, I’m typing. School-aged children are still actually taught manuscript writing, that’s printing for those unfamiliar with the term. However there is so much technology in the classrooms these days that kids are learning more how to touch their selection on the screen, or ‘speak’ it into the device. Digital deliverables (classwork or homework) are accepted and still less of us are actually writing.
I taught cursive in my classroom for many years. In my classroom, it was ‘cursive only’, period. I wrote in neat cursive on the board, and I accepted only cursive work from all my students. If would often, and then less often receiver work that was printed/manuscript. I would thank the student for their effort, especially if they really did put effort into their work, and then I would remind them that I accept cursive-only, and they would need to re-write their work. This was not a surprise to them, that I accepted cursive-only, but they conveniently chose to write in manuscript just because it was easier. Sorry, this work requirement hasn’t changed people.
As time passed, I began to receive more and more pushback from students and their parents regarding writing cursive! ‘My child is in tears trying to do their homework in cursive.’ Instead of receiving some kind of reminder or encouragement ‘Come on, you know the class rules, you can do it!’, it became more of ‘That’s alright buddy, I’ll send him an email or speak with him tomorrow.’
That type of exchange increasingly grew over the years so one day I reluctantly surrendered to the fact that my classroom requirement for writing in cursive-only was no longer going to be a battle I would fight.
Technology and its increasing use became exponential. We used our thumbs to ‘type’. Eventually, we didn’t even have to type, we ‘swiped’ the word into being. Then we succumbed to selecting the ‘space bar’, which is NOT at all a space bar when a word was ‘suggested’. As a result, we unlearned how to spell.
We have grown into a society no longer accustomed to writing in the physical sense, pen to paper, and no one seems bothered by what will one day become quite a problem with individual or societal expansion! I didn’t begin this post with the intent to get on a soapbox and spew, however in composing this piece I have definitely gained a new appreciation for my age.
Petdad 