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Thread: Indiana schools to stop teaching cursive writing

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    I'm fancy ketchup HockeyGirl's Avatar
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    Indiana schools to stop teaching cursive writing

    Indiana schools to stop teaching cursive writing



    INDIANAPOLIS—
    Starting this fall, schools in Indiana won't have to teach kids how to write in cursive.

    Until now, kids started learning cursive handwriting in 2nd grade; but state education officials say computers and web books have made cursive a relic of the past; so it won't be required any more.

    Local school districts can still teach it if they want; but the state says it's more important to teach kids good keyboard skills.
    http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/wgn...,7906916.story


    Hmmm im not sure how I feel about this.
    How will these kids sign their names if they dont know cursive?
    I picture their signature to look like Krusty the Clowns

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    i fucking hate this.

    so kids will never sign their name.

    now i have to take time to write in print on the board because my student cant read script. its ridiculous. we're just fucking our schools. fuckit, why teach addition and subtraction, or multiplication or division... we got calculators bitches!!! what the fuck do we have to think anymore - GOOGLE FUCKERS!!!

    this is a bad sign and a slippery slope.

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    i have a few kids that dont use script, and they print their names to sign my learning contract, OR i have seen a couple that print their name, and connect the letters with lines. i facepalm everytime.

    and on the math thing - there was a question on my Anatomy and Physiology final that was simply: how many times a day does the average heart beat a YEAR.
    Ok so, the thing is to get the student to recall from their notes, the average heart beats 100,000 a day. so by the time you are a senior, you should know that there is 365 days in a year.... so multiply the two, and you get 36,500,000 times a year. (all you really have to do is count the zeros and add them to the end of 365)

    would you BELIEVE i had kids asking to use the calculator on that question during the final, i was like YOU ARE A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, you can count right, you can multiply, right? do it in your head. ugh, i have no patience for no common sense.

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    this is probably not a big deal to most of you... but seriously, the united states educational system is in big trouble.

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    Senior Member pollypocket's Avatar
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    A local elementary school near me had such a problem getting kids to do their homework that they decided the best solution was to eliminate hw altogether.
    I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat; and then on some dark cold night, I will steal away into your home, and punch you in the face.

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    Senior Member deeply shaded's Avatar
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    This is of interest to me because I think sometimes about how the decision is made to stop teaching outdated things. I would have never thought of cursive writing to be one of those, but what about making change?

    I've heard people bitch (old people) that some young person they encountered can't make change. But the fact is, they don't have to know how to make change, even in retail situations. The cash register does it for them. It might be nice to know so that they don't get screwed themselves when getting change back, but I rarely count my change. I shove it in my purse or pocket. So they probably don't count their change either. What if the computer goes down or the power goes off? They close the store. It's just not the same world anymore as when I was a kid.

    What about telling time? Kids always have access to digital clocks it seems. Why must they learn to tell time on an analog clock?

    Those are just a couple of things that come to mind. I'm as horrified as anyone about not teaching any of this stuff, but that could just be because I'm old and I've needed this knowledge.

    Zomy you say the educational system is in big trouble, but computers run everything anymore, so why must kids learn stuff that just isn't necessary? Is it really in big trouble, or does it just seem that way to us older folks?

    I'm not pushing for not teaching kids. Like I said, I find it scary myself. But at some point they stopped teaching kids how to put the harness on the horse and crank the model T, ya know? Who decides what they just don't need to learn anymore?



    ETA Wow that's really tl/dr.
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    Senior Member Bella's Avatar
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    My daughter is going into 8th grade this year. She has not been taught cursive.
    One of my sons is going into 3rd and they haven't started teaching him yet, either.

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Meh, I fucking hate cursive. It was an antiquated means of rewarding kids for something retarded and penalizing/ostracizing others. I had shitty penmanship. So does like, pretty much every non-Asian genius. It was an arbitrary and stupid standard of separating 'good' kids from bad. Having crappy handwriting isn't the same as not speaking English properly or being able to spell. I'm incredibly fast typist.

    And it was def. something sexist. It was never as important for boys to have neat cursive as it was for little girls, and if you weren't good at it, you somehow were less female. I mean, I'd get marked down if my s went over the line. That's fucking stupid. Spend that half hour on something actually educational. NO ONE uses cursive after elementary school except elderly people who write illegible greeting cards.

    BTW my mom has unreadably bad handwriting too.

  9. #9
    Senior Member deeply shaded's Avatar
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    I remember once in I think maybe third grade my teacher humiliating me in front of the whole class talking about my shit handwriting. I hope she's dead now and died a slow death with many people sending her get well cards with crappy handwriting. Bitch.
    Quote Originally Posted by beli View Post
    kim kardashian - made famous for having a sex tape, should die in a fire
    Quote Originally Posted by McMama View Post
    Have you ever walked into a mall, sat on God's lap, and had your picture taken?

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deeply shaded View Post
    I remember once in I think maybe third grade my teacher humiliating me in front of the whole class talking about my shit handwriting. I hope she's dead now and died a slow death with many people sending her get well cards with crappy handwriting. Bitch.
    Oh, I see you also had Mrs. Bloom as a teacher. Feel better: I once hit her in the head with a bottle rocket. "By accident".

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    I guess in a few generations the fucking constitution is going to be considered hieroglyphics.

    Kids have shitty handwriting whether they print or script. But really? Getting rid of script just because people type IS like not teaching a kid to read a clock because "all" clocks are digital.
    And telling a kid that their s is messed up, or not on a line, is teaching them how to do it correctly. I'm sorry that many of you had old impatient teachers that made u feel shitty for having shitty handwriting but it should be done (not the feeling shitty, the hand writing). You still have to write in school.
    You still have to write essays in class, on a test, on lab reports, on the SATs and take notes, Not everything is on the computers yet. And even if it goes that way, do computers work Alllll the time? No. Should we be able to write things down quickly, yes.
    I just think that this is the beginning of the end of thinking.
    Geniuses will be geniuses, but those kids that need that extra nudge to think are going to be lost. Trust me I see it already. It's not too cool.

  12. #12
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    I don't see ANYTHING in common with script versus knowing how to read a fucking clock. You have to read a clock. There has literally never been a purpose in cursive. Men weren't even expected to learn it. It was a lady-like trait, like teaching girls to darn socks or something. You know what? My handwriting is shitty and I can't sew that fucking button on, and if my plane crashes in the wilderness, none of that shit will matter. All I'll need is a goddamn hatchet.

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    Hahaha ds mentioned it, not you bowmaster flex.

    Well luckily I teach science so if you crash in the woods, some of what I teach is applicable. Hahahaha. My point is, if they deem script not important, think of all the other shit that could possibly be deemed "unimportant" as well.

    Plus. When I write notes on the board theyre in script. I'm not a fucking kindergarten teacher to be writing shit out in print, takes too long. I had some kids tell me they can't read script and I said "well, it's a good time to learn.".

    And you know what, they learned.

  14. #14
    Senior Member deeply shaded's Avatar
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    I don't understand not teaching cursive writing. But there ARE things that just get outmoded because of technology or whatever. That's what I think about. How do they decide hmm....people don't need to know this anymore.
    Quote Originally Posted by beli View Post
    kim kardashian - made famous for having a sex tape, should die in a fire
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    I guess it's the school board. But if it's a state wide thing, it's gotta be the governor, maybe? I think it's too early to phase out cursive writing. Are all Indiana schools going to provide computers for their kids. I live in Bergen county which is reportedly one of the richest counties in the US (I don't see a dime of that money lol) and I have a few student who do not have a computer at home and handwrite their papers or labs.

    I think they are jumping the gun a bit.
    My guy's daughter is going into third and she writes script. She also has begun memorizing her multiplication tables. She knows 1,2,5 and 10. But that's my doing ;)

  16. #16
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    But cursive is a fucking waste of time and literally just taught to find a way to arbitrate between who is 'good' and neat and who is 'bad' and messy. I mean, kids shouldn't be made to feel like crap about that because it's literally got no use whatsoever. When people stop growing baby toes, I'm going to be all noooo kill itttt kill itttt fuck you evolution.

    If they were like, "Let's stop teaching math" I'd be like lolwut but actually I think this is some conservative, bullshit way of discriminating against kids for stupid things that don't matter. I mean, it's like how you can get a bad grade in PE because you suck at it rather than because you're not trying. That's fucking crap. So I suck at volley ball. So fucking what. If I try, isn't that what counts? Stupid. And yet some kid who didn't even read a book but makes a really cool shadow box will get an A.

  17. #17
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    3rd grade in New Mexico they taught cursive writing. I remember one long and painful night trying to get my words to line up neatly. Tried to give them the slant they wanted, the loops, stay on the lines, and "pretty" flow. I must have erased the paper ten times because it knew it was shit. I finally got it better than I ever had prior. Turned it in the next morning and, an hour later, the teacher plucked my paper out of the pile to share with the class. She called it ugly, too many eraser marks, and sloppy writing. She made exaggerated disgusted faces to convey to 3rd grade brains that my paper was the opposite of successful hand writing and neatness.

    Fuck pretty.

  18. #18
    Senior Member deeply shaded's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Creature Feature View Post
    3rd grade in New Mexico they taught cursive writing. I remember one long and painful night trying to get my words to line up neatly. Tried to give them the slant they wanted, the loops, stay on the lines, and "pretty" flow. I must have erased the paper ten times because it knew it was shit. I finally got it better than I ever had prior. Turned it in the next morning and, an hour later, the teacher plucked my paper out of the pile to share with the class. She called it ugly, too many eraser marks, and sloppy writing. She made exaggerated disgusted faces to convey to 3rd grade brains that my paper was the opposite of successful hand writing and neatness.

    Fuck pretty.
    I feel your pain.

    Bowie, I use cursive. Don't you use it to sign cards or sign your name or anything?
    Quote Originally Posted by beli View Post
    kim kardashian - made famous for having a sex tape, should die in a fire
    Quote Originally Posted by McMama View Post
    Have you ever walked into a mall, sat on God's lap, and had your picture taken?

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    Well guys. Sorry you all had bad experiences learning how to write script. Guess, it's people like you making the decisions.

    I didn't have a bad experience learning script, I got told it was too small, i never really ever got the q right, and I didn't slant but it didn't make a mark in my psyche. However I cryed in 7th grade algebra twice. The teacher embarrassed me and told me that I had too much hair to allow Algebra into my brain.

    So if I am ever in a position to make decisions about the curriculum, fuck algebra Bc I had a bad time and what the fuck, I dont even use it. I'll be saving lots of kids tears.

    And for the record, handwriting doesnt separate the good from the bad. Yes it's a skill that some will pick up faster, but it has to be taught and corrected when wrong. In my tests, if I can't understand it, it's wrong! So if a kid has shit handwriting and I can't get what theyre saying in their essay, it's wrong. You'd be shocked at how many kids miraculously nicer handwriting.
    Last edited by ZoMyGoddess!; 06-30-2011 at 09:23 PM. Reason: Thanks technology. If I hand wrote that post it would have been right the first time.

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    Fuck my iPhone with a hot stick. I'm editing I swear. Lol.

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Listen, I understand your fear but I don't think cursive is something that needs to be protected. It really is an antiquated thing. When I lived in Florida, I went to a school where girls did not take PE. We took ballet. Because it was like 1952 in that school and we were also taught ettiquitte where as the guys could be farty crude little assholes.

    This is the thing. Some topics become obsolete because THEY SHOULD BE. I'm not going to cry if the pledge of allegiance goes bye bye either. They're relics of a bygone conservative America that emphasizes appearance over quality. If I wrote the best paper in the world, I'd get points off for shitty handwriting but the kid who was borderline retarded with neat handwriting got rewarded. That's what the world needs to be getting rid of, not protecting.

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    I stopped using it once I got into high school and had to start writing in pen. Thankfully, they gave us the option of neat and legible print. My previous rant aside, I think its something children should at least be exposed to but not necessarily graded on. It's important to be able to read and understand various types of print but, at this point in time, I'd call it's practice an art form rather then a skill set.

    I had the worst time EVER with algebra one and two but I still consider that more necessary then pretty writing. Algebra I've actually used to solve real world/work related problems. Nobody ever tells me I have a shitty signature.

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    Senior Member deeply shaded's Avatar
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    If you need reassurance that all is already lost, read here.

    http://middleschoolproverbs.wordpress.com/
    Quote Originally Posted by beli View Post
    kim kardashian - made famous for having a sex tape, should die in a fire
    Quote Originally Posted by McMama View Post
    Have you ever walked into a mall, sat on God's lap, and had your picture taken?

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    I guess we can agree to disagree somewhat. I'm just saying, kids still need to write in school. They get taught script in 2nd grade, they got ten more years of school to go.
    Some teachers are fucked graders,... I have seen that, but yea, if you got the answer right but I can't understand it, you're getting it wrong. The kid that I can understand, and has it half right, will get partial credit. What can I do? When it comes to the SATs, it's not like you can go up to the SAT board and be like, well I what that says is...
    The SATs has a big open ended part for math and English, not to mention all the fucking standardized testing they're going to be rating teacher's success on. (boo).
    How are they supposed to do it, in the time they're supposed to do it, by printing like babies.
    Eventually, everything will be typing and computers, but until then, script should still be taught.

    If I could find a few of my final exams tomorrow Bowie, I'm gonna text you a couple of kids who are seniors and write like they're babies. It's nuts. I couldn't imagine staring at 30 - 200 papers with that kind of handwriting.

  25. #25
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    This is why cursive has never made sense to me. So many people suck at it. Print is obviously preferable.

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