A typewritten rant about...handwriting!

When I was in elementary school, Handwriting was as much a part of the curriculum as Reading, Math, and Spelling. I remember using specially-lined paper to practice forming the letters properly--although to my dismay, my penmanship never really developed into anything approaching the neat and pretty examples we were given. Eventually, all kids learned cursive as a sort of rite-of-passage (more "adult" handwriting, I guess). It always seemed a pain in the rear to me, however, and I reverted to the easier and faster "printing" method whenever I was allowed. (and then of course--finally--came computers--Hallelujah and Amen!)

Fast forward to modern-day elementary school. My kids use computers with greater ease than they push a pencil. So I was a little stunned when I found out that Derek would be taught cursive in the 3rd grade. It just seems so....Little House on the Prairie to be focusing on the dying art of cursive writing. Think about it--when was the last time you used cursive? Probably when adding your signature to an official document of some kind. And...that's about it. It's not like we're writing formal letters to our grandmothers on notecards anymore (which is the ONLY other reason I can imagine for writing in cursive!) Now he informs me that after the first marking period ends, all of his papers handed in for a grade will be submitted...in cursive. What the heck? Does that sound like child torture to anyone else besides me? Are the 5th-grade teachers also going to offer seminars in other Bygone Skills like "dialing a rotary phone" or "programming a VCR"?

I understand that kids today should know how to wield a pen in such a way that another human being can actually decipher what they've put down on paper. But I would LOVE to see some time spent on keyboarding instruction and practice. Because let's face it: by the time this generation reaches high school and college, they'll be toting their little Netbooks in their backpacks, typing notes during class lectures, emailing or posting all their assignments to the course website, participating in online discussions of the material...and the only thing they'll need cursive for is to sign their tuition check!