I was working away today, lost in my own little dreams about cruising that Atlantic Ocean, volcanoes in Iceland, etc. Being a daydreamer really makes the day go more quickly. The young man working across from me said, "Hey, Debby, can I ask a question?"
"Sure," I said.
He handed me a note, and said, "What does this say?"
I was a little dumbfounded. He's about to begin his last year of college. I knew that he wasn't illiterate. My mind quickly went to dyslexia or any number of reading problems. I took the customer's note and began to read it. As I was reading, he said, "I don't know cursive."
I've seen that all around social media, the posts about kids not being taught cursive in school. I thought it was hyperbole, a manufactured outrage about yet another thing that doesn't amount to a hill of beans, but today I met a college senior who cannot read cursive.
Well I suppose as many of the young people live on the computer or their phones, it is only natural that they cannot read cursive, which must look like the script writings of Chinese. You are showing your age Debby ;)
ReplyDeleteWriting style does change over time. Just think of documents not that long ago
ReplyDeleteAnother great post Love it. Keep it coming!
ReplyDeleteMy cursive writing is very untidy. I should have been a doctor writing undecipherable prescriptions.😊
ReplyDeleteWow! I've read that young people don't learn writing in cursive or penmanship anymore, but I never considered that they may not be able to READ it.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting Debby. In my working life I was Head of a very large un it for the teaching of English as a Second Language (to Punjabi immigrant childrenand the reading of English to local children who for some reason were not reading when they entered secondary education. I don't remember any effort being made in school to teach handwriting - your handwriting showed your character. I know now that people in the US have a certain style of sriting - you can pick out US writers.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the school where my daughters attend still teaches cursive writing. I think attempts to stop teaching it are short sighted, even in a mostly digital age.
ReplyDeleteThat's really odd, but I have heard of it too. Danica was an early reader. One day when she was still pretty young, maybe kindergarten, I remember saying, "Oh, she can read cursive too."
ReplyDeleteI can't read my wife's printing or writing when she wrote cursive 40 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWell, that young man's dilemma is somewhat shocking to hear. Loved Weave's comment regarding US vs UK handwriting styles. I suspect it's due to a vast majority of American kids being taught the "Palmer" method of handwriting over many generations. It's a shame cursive writing is no longer being taught in schools...I am certainly becoming a dinosaur.
ReplyDeleteI learned by the Palmer method. The problem is that I am left handed, and so my writing lacks the forward slant so necessary in penmanship (according to Palmer, anyway). My teacher spent a lot of time trying to teach me how to write with a slant. To be honest, I didn't care. I had nice handwriting. Still do to this day, except if I'm in a hurry (my writing probably looks a lot like Red's wife's or Northsider's writing at that point). But I did not get good grades for penmanship. 20 years earlier, my father had his hand smacked by the teacher every time she caught him writing left handed. I guess I was born at a better time.
ReplyDeleteI know cursive as a way of writing is not so much taught, and books are only the printed word, so how to make sense of a note in script.
ReplyDeleteMy 10 year old grandson doesn't read or write cursive either. I think I'll write him letters in cursive to maybe peak his interest much as learning another language might be, or suggest it could be a secret code he'll have that others won't. Surely having this skill could be an advantage in the future for a few generations. Am surprised a college aged student wouldn't know cursive now.
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