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I believe that the knowledge of cursive writing is very important. It should be taught in school so that each person has a chance to not only learn how to write in cursive, but to do it correctly. What they do with that knowledge is then up to them. As an added plus, cursive writing allows one to write faster when needed. I personally combine some cursive writing with print as a form of hybrid writing, if you will, and I know that I am not the only one by far. Some schools that got away from teaching it, have gone back to it. I have personally witnessed some students excitedly trying to get enough work done in class whereas the teacher could use any “spare” time to teach them cursive writing. They had a thirst to learn it. I find it disheartening to learn that not all of our states require schools to teach cursive writing. Studies show that learning cursive writing also helps with problem solving and abstract thinking which crosses over to many different school subjects, as well as issues in life.
In what some people would consider more advanced societies, quite a few people seem to think that since computers are here to stay, one should forget about “old-school” ways such as cursive writing and concentrate on keyboarding. But, here’s the thing, NOT everyone has a computer, sometimes there are power failures, or for one reason or another a computer is not available when note taking is necessary. I believe a society should not put all of their “eggs in one basket” and rely totally on computers, or even technology. As in math, people should be able to figure out if a register is telling them the correct amount of change to give out to a customer. Maybe he or she accidentally hit the wrong figures, for a computer can only work with its input, not determine if the input is correct or not. Some believe that computers can translate cursive writing for people. However, knowing cursive writing can help people decide if a computer is actually “reading” the input correctly.
A society needs to be able to function even when power goes out, whether for a few minutes, or for hours and days. We cannot and should not hand over our future to something that can be easily removed by overuse, storms, or war. Electronics can make our life easier, but they can cause major issues also. Who hasn’t had to fight a computer to get a job done, no matter the size? They are to be a tool to help man, not replace man’s knowledge and abilities. Have you seen the movie I,Robot?
Cursive writing is also used whenever we need to sign something official. Going back to using an “x” or a fingerprint to sign “on the dotted line” is stepping too far back in time and progress, and should not be permitted. Some say that signing can be done electronically, but that is not always possible. Also, anything electronic can be hacked and altered. Hard copy documents, even when printed from computers, are essential backup.
Knowing cursive allows one to read historical documents, correspondence from past relatives, and other important communications. It is not a hard thing to learn. Yes, it takes a bit of time, but doesn’t everything that matters? Any age can learn, but learning when one is younger is easier and sticks better I believe. I hope all schools go back to teaching cursive writing, or else older people will have a secret language to communicate with each other until it becomes lost in history, one in which no one will be able to understand.
I am interested to hear your thoughts on this matter, please leave a comment below.
To see some additional websites with more information on the matter, please click on the red underlined statements in the post above.
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