Growing up as a teacher's son, I can only lend to the experiences of a partial summer vacation from school when it comes to discussing summers as a kid. Most summers until I was in high school, and even a couple during Henrico High, I was required to be in some sort of educational enrichment program sponsored by either Henrico or Richmond Public schools; along with my mothers' own educational assignments that I had to complete before I did anything else (except chores of course). This is not to say that I didn't have great times in Chamberlayne as a young boy 'cross county lines during my months off, but Mrs. Jones made it very clear that education was vital; coupled with the theme that the school systems' teaching is only 50% of the game. Because of this in the forefront of my thoughts, I see some advantages to most of the United States removing yet another traditional education staple.
As we move into this school year, let's take a look at the fact that 40 states in the Union are considering or already have done away with teaching children how to write in cursive. I think that the surface reason for this is obvious--that with so much being done electronically in the real world, that the use of cursive handwriting is like an ancient manuscript. Even when I was in school, watching my classmates getting their knuckles tapped because they weren't forming their "z" correctly (never happened to me because mom-dukes had me practicing at the crib), I would wonder why we were learning this. Later as a teenager I realized cursive was needed for a person's signature to be respected, and that was pretty much it. I wouldn't be surprised if some of my fellow classmates with bruised hands are leading the cause against cursive. Whoever is completely behind this, I think it creates a great opportunity for family unity through teaching.
But forget cursive, the bigger issue to me is that the writing is on the wall about hand, uh, writing being scratched from formal education curriculum altogether; but that doesn't mean that the use of handwriting will go away or won't be needed. Not only is that common sense, but several school districts recognize this as well. Some in the nation are already requiring for children to have certain skills (handwriting, counting, word pronunciation, etc.) before they enter kindergarten. Therefore, this pushes parents to do a couple things.
Mothers, fathers, and guardians must now be more careful when selecting a preschool, day care, or Head Start program for their child. In order for the child to be able to grasp the information when they first hit public school, it's imperative that they begin "formal" education as soon as possible. I believe that the removal of cursive handwriting is the start of this change. Additionally, this also [should] coerce more (if not all) parents to begin the education process at home. Somehow, particularly in rural and/or poverty stricken communities; and in many African-American homes regardless of class, home teaching (not home schooling) has fallen by the wayside. The idea that "book" learning is reserved for school while other forms of learning can take place in the home is ridiculous; but it dominates societies thinking. A child learns socially at school as well as at home, and the same should occur for his or her scholastic learning. Therefore, when a school system decides that a certain skill is not useful in what they determine to be standards for learning (no pun intended), then parents should be prepared to equipped their children with these skills.
We all should know by now that society a whole is become more fast-paced than it was just last year; and this does not exclude educating children. I mean, come on, I'm typing this on an Internet blog for millions to read after I push Publish Post! Still, although me writing this by hand would not be able to accomplish the task, it doesn't mean I discard my handwriting skill. To that end, school systems cannot receive blame for shedding some things that are not currently useful for competing in a global community--as a matter of fact, they should be commended for their progress (most of the time). But to keep our kids stable during these furious winds of change, let's get back to ensuring the process of education starts and continues in the homes of our youth. Parents must always be forward thinking enough to create atmospheres for their children to become the integral members of society through education. Members that they (parents) will soon need. I am convinced that this must be done with a child's first teacher in book knowledge being a parent or a family member if the parent can't do it. Besides, imagine the interest a child will take in school when they have been made secure to succeed by the parent at home.
We can't expect someone else to make us the best.
Peace
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