They want to eliminate writing in favor of typing.
"Some states preserve penmanship despite tech gains" by Christina Hoag |
Associated Press, December 02, 2012
LOS ANGELES — The pen may not be as mighty as the keyboard these
days, but California and a handful of states are not giving up on
handwriting entirely.
Bucking a growing trend of eliminating cursive from elementary school
curriculums or making it optional, California is among the states
keeping longhand as a third-grade staple.
The state’s posture on penmanship is not likely to undercut its place
at the leading edge of technology, but it has teachers and students
divided over the value of learning flowing script in an age of touchpads
and mobile devices.
Some see it as a waste of time, an anachronism in a digitized society
where even signatures are electronic, but others see it as necessary so
youths can hone fine motor skills, reinforce literacy, and develop
their own unique stamp of identity.
I feel that way every time I sit down and read a Globe.
The debate comes as 45 states move toward adopting national
curriculum guidelines in 2014 for English and math that don’t include
cursive writing but require computer keyboarding proficiency by the time
pupils exit elementary school.
Several states, including California, Massachusetts, and Georgia have
added a cursive writing requirement to the national standards, while
most others, such as Indiana, Illinois, and Hawaii have left it as
optional for school districts. Some states, like Utah, are still
studying the issue.
Whether it is required or not, cursive is fast becoming a lost art as
schools increasingly replace pen and paper with classroom computers and
instruction is increasingly geared to academic subjects that are tested
on standardized exams. Even the standardized tests are on track to be
administered via computer within three years.
Some educators say writing in block letters may be sufficient when it comes to handwriting in the future.
‘‘Do you really need to learn two different scripts?’’ said Steve
Graham, education professor at Arizona State University who has studied
handwriting instruction. ‘‘There will be plenty of kids who don’t learn
cursive. The more important skill now is typing.’’
I'm doing as much as I can as fast as I can.
Cursive still has many proponents who say it benefits youngsters’
brains, coordination, and motor skills, as well as connects them to the
past, whether to handwritten historical documents like the Constitution
or to their parents’ and grandparents’ letters.
Longhand is also a symbol of personality, even more so in an era of uniform e-mails and texting, they say.
And all set for analysis.
For many teachers, having children spend hours copying flowing
letters isn’t practical in an era of high-stakes standardized testing.
Yeah, who would ever want to have a personality when you can be a robotic automaton, kids?
--more--"
I suppose writing is the least essential of the three; however, I just can't help feeling uneasy about a population that is becoming more illiterate by the day. And now they want to take the pencil away.
One question: how you gonna sign for shit if you can't write? Make an X?
