"I can't read Cursive."

a reply to: Phage


Latin is a dead language as well but I learned it and I think it should still be taught simply because so much of our history was written in it.

a reply to: DBCowboy

My daughter loves her Latin class. She's in her second year.

I liked it too. It's really helpful for speaking and writing English and other western languages. Not so much for cursive though.

Past pluperfect was always my favorite tense.

Amo
Amas
Amat
Amatus

?

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Phage


Latin is a dead language as well but I learned it and I think it should still be taught simply because so much of our history was written in it.

Lest we forget....

Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!

Lege atque lacrima

a reply to: DBCowboy

Since so much of our current language is descended in a sense from Latin, a study of Latin can be very useful, and if you are going into a scientific or technical field, even more so.

a reply to: ketsuko

But cursive, not so much.

Latin is a dead language as well but I learned it and I think it should still be taught simply because so much of our history was written in it.

wasn't everything we think of as latin written in greek.
and the only people who spoke latin were emporers.
everyone else spoke greek or vulgar latin.

a reply to: Rikku

wasn't everything we think of as latin written in greek.

No.

a reply to: Phage

www.psychologytoday.com...

Improved hand-eye coordination, the complexity of cursive may help improve literacy, handwriting engages both hemispheres of the brain, there are also psychological benefits beyond the biological ones I listed.

a reply to: ketsuko

integratedlistening.com...

originally posted by: Rikku

Latin is a dead language as well but I learned it and I think it should still be taught simply because so much of our history was written in it.

wasn't everything we think of as latin written in greek.

Uh, no, but it is why the plural of octopus is octopusses and not octopi. English is an equal-opportunity language.

a reply to: CryHavoc

My grandmother taught me to write so I learned cursive before I learned to print. When I started school (1st grade- kindergarten was not a requirement back then) my teacher would get angry with me and make me redo my work regularly because I didn't like to print.

Cursive is so much easier and faster at first I couldn't understand why when my own children were in high school students were allowed to turn in work that was in print instead of cursive. Now with everything- even schoolwork- being done via computer or tablet I see why it is so. By the time my kids graduated their senior term papers would not be accepted unless they were done on computer and printed from one.

The world- it is a changin'!
Just not sure if it's for the better. If the internet went down long term students would not know what to do. My children thought I was the most horrible mother in the world for forcing them to go to an actual library and use the card catalog, the reference section and microfiche before I would allow them to continue their research online. Students now do not know how to do those things any more- they only know how to search the internet.

a reply to: Rikku

as far as I can tell the only use for latin today is for people tryng to let others know that their education was better/more expensive than someone elses.

expensive is right....but it's payin off bigly now!!!!!!

Parve leves capiunt animos

a reply to: CryHavoc

I've written in cursive since I learned to write at age 6, and feel pulling it out of the curriculum may not be all that smart an idea for the reasons listed below.

Printing and cursive writing stimulate the brain and mind in unique ways that typing does not, including hand-eye coordination, self-discipline, attention to detail, and global engagement of thinking, language, and working memory areas.

Studies show that laptop note-taking produces a more shallow understanding of the material compared to taking notes by hand; students using laptops to take notes don’t perform as well on exams compared to longhand note-takers.

originally posted by: CryHavoc
So I went to a Civil War re-enactment a couple of years ago in Channahon, Illinois. The guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln was doing a discussion and he asked a kid in the front row to read a letter that he pulled out of his jacket pocket. The kid looked at it and said:

"I can't read Cursive."

Congratulations Teachers - the next generation of children won't be able to READ any of the documents of the history of the United States. It will be a Foreign Language.

Stop cutting teachers salaries and funding for school room supplies. You get what you pay for!

Next, they will stop teaching shorthand

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: CryHavoc

Ha. Yeah what's so hard about it?

It's the same but with squigglies.

I enjoy the flowing, connected, fast, and even meditative qualities that I get from writing in cursive. I write a LOT.

If I may say so, I think my cursive is beautiful to behold, and since my livelihood depends upon me doing thngs beautifully, I am building discipline, awareness, and graceful execution into an otherwise overlooked aspect of literacy.

Maybe not every person needs what cursive can give, and thats where I stop talking.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

We get stupid stuff like new math

My God, how I hate that term! There is no such thing as "new math" or "old math" or "green math" or "blue math"... math is math is math! It always has been and always will be mathematics.

There is a difference in how it's taught though. When I learned math, I was shown how to do it, and I did it. Over and over and over. Then someone came up with the (good) suggestion that maybe the kids that were doing badly in math were doing badly because they needed it explained a different way. So the schools started trying to present a multi-pronged approach to math.

Example: multiply 6*12. You can do this in several ways. You can say that 6*10=60, 6*2-12, and 60+12=72. You can say that 6 groups of 12 each is 72, that 12 groups of 6 each is 72, or just that 6*12=72. You can also say that 6=3*2 and 12=3*2*2, so 6*12=3*3*2*2*2=72. But no matter what way you look at the problem, you are still multiplying 6 and 12.

Me? I take the hard way... prime numbers (the last example). Not many people do that, but it is easier for me.

As a tutor, it is my job to present the material in the way the student needs to understand it. I don't care which way the student learns... as long as they learn. But the schools took a good idea and turned it into a nightmare. Under the present public school curriculum, every child is required to learn every way to do the same problem. That completely defeats the purpose of teaching different methods, and ensures that very few children will be able to make good grades.

Now, what does that have to do with cursive writing? Well, it you're having to teach several different ways to do math, that takes more time. So something has to be dropped... I know for a fact we don't teach civics anymore (schools might lecture, but it is obvious very few are learning it). We dropped cursive writing, too. Who needs them, right? Well, until you go to vote and aren't sure what you're voting for... or when you need to read some older material that is in cursive writing. Then we see what is meant by "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it."

Me? I refuse to write cursive... I can do it, but no one can read it. I have one of those signatures you don't read; you recognize. But I can read cursive, and if necessary I could write it... sorta. I have it if I need it, while kids today will need it if they have to have it.

Our entire attitude towards education needs to change. If we would look at education as more than something you do so you can get a job, instead of something one needs to be the best they can be, we could again be the society that brought us all of the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Every child needs exposure to Shakespeare. Every child needs to understand American history as a minimum, and Western Civilization history preferably. Every single child graduating high school should understand calculus. Every child should know how to read cursive writing. Those are not unreasonable goals if we concentrate more on teaching for the purpose of learning and less for the purpose of getting through with the school chore. They are only unreasonable if we keep the status quo.

TheRedneck

a reply to: dfnj2015

It's not about money. It's about desire.

TheRedneck

Damn shame...

already massive damage done to kids in regards to being able to solve mathematical equations sans electronic devices..

not it's cool to skip writing& reading cursive...

as long as the youngsters have a grasp on texting & emojis, the world is alright...