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I was at the dentist the other day. As it turned out, I need some extensive work on my teeth over the next few months, so I was talking with a nice lady about how I was going to pay for it (I only have to sell one kidney, thank goodness). I'm not sure how it came up, but she said her 15-year-old daughter did a job for someone, and he paid her by check. Now, the daughter didn't know how to magically turn the check into cash, so her mother took her to the bank. She was surprised to discover that she couldn't get the money right away, because the check had to clear first. However, what the nice lady told me next blew me away - she had to show her daughter how to sign the check. You see, they no longer teach cursive in the daughter's school. Up to this point, her daughter never had to sign her name to anything, only print. Apparently, cursive is considered an antiquated way to write, given that people use keyboards nowadays. Aside: At a recent science fiction convention, one of the panelists mentioned he writes all his books and short stories by hand. There were several gasps from the audience.
I shouldn't be surprised that cursive isn't taught anymore, given that some colleges don't require Shakespeare for an English or English Literature degree.
However, my question is this:
What else are we not teaching our children?
Discussion (85)
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No more slide rules removes one of the last immediately practical uses of logarithms. They’ll pop up again later, in the middle of complicated topics made slightly more so by introducing new concepts.
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Reading.
American History.
Lots of other things, I'm sure, but the absence of those two is bad enough.
I can not say enough bad things about public schools administration, teacher education and credentialling, and the teachers' unions. I mean, not without setting the CoC on fire.
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From time to time I will watch some GenZ folks reacting to movies. When there is a scene in the film that shows a note written by hand and in cursive a few of them respond, "I don't know what that says."
And then there are the times when you are prompted to write your signature on a small, touch-sensitive screen (at the bank, for example) often with your finger and the results look ghastly...almost as though you have been suddenly struck with palsy.
When writing by hand I tend to print and haven't used cursive in decades but would have no problem writing in cursive again. The question would be how many people, particular younger people, would be able to read it. When writing on envelopes to be mailed, my printing tends to be very exact and something you might see on an architectural blueprint.
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In her recent book, The Extinction of Experience, Christine Rosen makes the case for how important learning good handwriting is to children's education. There is neurological benefit to translating thoughts to words using pen (or pencil) and paper. Students who master handwriting become better readers.
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The educators have corrupted even the basics. What aren't we teaching? Basic literacy, for one thing. Now they cripple kids by teaching "whole word" recognition. Basic math, for another. After a year or two of Common Core, kids can't even add or multiply.
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