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The law’s primary goal is to give students the ability to read and write in cursive, Assembly member Quirk-Silva told the Sacramento Bee. She also pointed out that most historical records were written in cursive.
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Don't get me wrong, I actually think it's a good idea but I'm getting mixed signals here. She says it's so students can read historical documents in a State that's doing it's damnedest to erase or re-write history.
Nice. Now if only they were required to be able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. Because we all know that 19% of high school graduates are illiterate. The fact you can get a HS diploma without being able to read is beyond stupid. (https://www.highschoolcube.com/the-high-rate-of-functional-illiteracy-among-high-school-graduates-in-the-united-states/)
ReplyDeleteAnd didn't Washington state explicitly remove the requirement for basic reading, writing, and math schools to graduate from high school just this week? "Educational standards are racist" or something. At least they're being more honest about what they're actually doing, I suppose. (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/oregon-math-reading-writing-mastery-high-school-graduation - Oregon, not washington. Ah well. I was close.)
John G
That was Oregon, because thinking is racist.
DeleteDon't forget though that, depending on the color of their skin, kids won't be tested.
ReplyDeleteThey called it 'Long Hand" back in my day and I still remember the letters with capital & lower-case letters posted above the black board. We spent hours practicing writing them on yellow lined paper.
ReplyDeleteIn grade school, the students bought the paper at the schoom store. The paper was plain, without lines. We would draw in the lines using a stylus.
DeleteDrat! If they go back to teaching cursive, we ancient folks won't have a secret code to communicate with each other!
ReplyDeleteTHIS.
DeleteLike all laws, it applies to who the state wants to enforce it upon. Maybe some school is bucking the system and the state needs something to take them down a notch.
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding teachers who can do that. I think Mrs Willians is long gone.
ReplyDeleteI think they have interpreted the law wrong. I believe it says they are teaching the kids how to curse when writing...
ReplyDeleteCursive is something that could be an elective under creative arts since there is little practical use for it anymore unless someone is trying to read boomer / early gen X scribbling. If historical documents is the best excuse these people have for bringing back cursive then put it in the history major's pipeline and leave everyone else alone. I type all my notes on my netbook since it's more efficient than writing. I doubt my future co-workers in a laboratory setting would appreciate cursive hand writing when notes need to be accurate and readable.
ReplyDelete- Arc
Funny, but I don't have any problem reading my grandmother's cursive writing. Perhaps you should put more effort into your penmanship if your writing is illegible.
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DeleteThat's wonderful that YOU don't have any issues reading YOUR grandmother's cursive writing, but YOU are not everyone else and do not reflect the labor pool. There is nothing illegible about my pen scratch; however, stylized writing techniques, like cursive, cost additional time, cause costly errors, and lead to unnecessary frustration when compared to the plain efficiency printed text. Using cursive in a STEM field is akin to using Greek cursive fonts or Giddyup Std in formal writing; don't do it.
Cursive is stylized writing merely for the sake of style and throws readability to the wind, I have no desire to return to that lunacy; especially stylized fonts that border on calligraphy. I can think of countless ways to better employ student time than to have them mindlessly draw stylized symbols to convey information in a less efficient, more error prone format than that of print which is a standardized and universally accepted print character set. Cursive is a safety hazard and trying to use it is a step backwards in societal development, it was abandoned for good reasons.
- Arc
Run along now little boy, I hear your mommy calling you for cookies and milk. Let us grownups handle the conversation.
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