How to write

[PennLady]

...as in, how to physically write letters.

http://www.philly.com/philly/column...ys_not_the_right_replacement_for_cursive.html

I'd heard of this before, but I think kids should still learn to write. Let's develop some fine motor skills, eh?

 

[lovecraft68]

...as in, how to physically write letters.

http://www.philly.com/philly/column...ys_not_the_right_replacement_for_cursive.html

I'd heard of this before, but I think kids should still learn to write. Let's develop some fine motor skills, eh?

I agree wholeheartedly! Problem is if they don't come up with a video game or an App that shows them how it won't work.

 

[PennLady]

I'll be curious to see if my kids learn handwriting. This past year, my son was in first grade and certainly spent time every day working on their printing. I don't see why they can't teach both. I mean, geez, there's a million touch-typing programs out there, and I taught myself on a TI-994A (and yes, I date myself with such statements). Learning to type, the basics, seems hardly enough reason to toss out cursive writing.

However, as they continue to try to teach to tests and meet all these standards, and they've already reduced or cut art/music/gym, I guess cursive is the next to go.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my father, practicing the letters over and over again until I could draw/write them perfectly.

At the time my father was a draftsman and sat all day making blue prints. His block script was perfect, as if a machine had drawn them. His cursive not so good.

He tutored me in block and my mom in cursive. So my block letters are masculine and my cursive is feminine. Go figure.

 

[oggbashan]

I remember a SF story ?Asimov, ?Heinlein, in which a group of boys taught themselves to read and write and therefore could communicate by "secret code" that no adult could decipher because all normal communication was by video.

When I was taught arithmetic, electronic calculators were a long way in the future. Even a slide rule was advanced technology. We were expected to do mental arithmetic and multiplication or division step by step on paper. Books of tables were essential for more complex calculations. Every tradesman had his own reference tables for his trade e.g. for a printer - weight of a 1/4 ream of paper, amount of ink needed to print three hundred and ten copies of a quarto book with 198 pages...

The result? If I am looking at raw statistics I can make an approximation in my head and know instantly if a figure calculated from the raw data is likely to be reasonable. My colleagues might misplace the decimal point but I would spot it and know that my calculation was wrong.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I remember a SF story ?Asimov, ?Heinlein, in which a group of boys taught themselves to read and write and therefore could communicate by "secret code" that no adult could decipher because all normal communication was by video.

When I was taught arithmetic, electronic calculators were a long way in the future. Even a slide rule was advanced technology. We were expected to do mental arithmetic and multiplication or division step by step on paper. Books of tables were essential for more complex calculations. Every tradesman had his own reference tables for his trade e.g. for a printer - weight of a 1/4 ream of paper, amount of ink needed to print three hundred and ten copies of a quarto book with 198 pages...

The result? If I am looking at raw statistics I can make an approximation in my head and know instantly if a figure calculated from the raw data is likely to be reasonable. My colleagues might misplace the decimal point but I would spot it and know that my calculation was wrong.

I don't think is was Heinlein, although he did write about twin brothers who thought they could whisper soft enough that only the other twin could here. Turns out they were telepathic.