According to this article, it takes a year for a child to learn to write in cursive. Um, my kids have taken... I believe it's close to three years now, and they still can't do it. It's not just them. I've seen other kids' attempts to write in cursive, and I have yet to see an example of any fifth grader that actually can write in cursive. The explanation: "I don't know how to write in cursive, so I don't." And the teachers don't make them write in cursive, so they never get any practice. And even when they do write in cursive, the teacher doesn't correct the mistakes. Perhaps the teachers are afraid they're going to hurt the kids' feelings.
Not that I think cursive is all that important to learn. I haven't used cursive writing in more than twenty years, and I don't think I'm any less intelligent because of it. But, it is a skill that is supposedly being taught in our schools; time is being spent in the classroom teaching it; but no one is ensuring that the skill is being developed and used. Much like most of the subjects being taught in elementary schools here in Utah.
Reading is a good example of what I'm trying to get at. As it turns out, my kids love to read. It is perhaps their favorite thing to do, and I think both of them read "above grade level." But, they don't use the skill for other than their own entertainment. Here's a good example: my son has the responsibility to feed the dog every day. We keep a big bag of dog food in the basement. Once I bought a different brand, and even though it was sitting right in the same spot, and had the words "dog food" on the bag, he couldn't identify it as dog food because it had different labeling. In other words, though he could read the words "dog food," it wasn't fun, so he didn't, I guess. Instead, he went downstairs, looked at the bag, and came back up and informed me that we were out of dog food. It's the same with instructions. It's not fun to read the instructions, so ask Mom or Dad how to do it. And if Mom or Dad are not around, just guess, usually with bad results.
Now, most people that know me know that I don't hold the Utah elementary educational system in very high esteem. Perhaps my expectations are too high. But last night, we had a disturbing discussion with our daughter. I was trying to see if she had any idea about World War II, and I said it had taken place (I wasn't sure exactly when) in the 1930s or 1940s. She guessed the Revolutionary War. Then, to make it worse, she said she thought the Revolutionary War had something to do with slavery. Well, I don't remember all of the details now, but I think she said something about the Civil War being in the 1600s. And on it went.
The point here is this: the schools here spend most of their time teaching random facts and little time actually practicing the skills they are teaching, and then, to top it all off, they apparently spend no time teaching the kids how to apply what they've learned. I think it's time for a change.
I'm not sure why I'm replying to this pure stupidity, but what the hell. I'm a fifth grade teacher and all of my kids can write in cursive. We teach cursive because it has a historical context in our society AND because it teaches children fine motor skills more so than print does - that's why kids complain about their hands aching at the beginning of the school year (they are developing those muscles.)
ReplyDeleteIn summation...don't make blanket claims about things you have no experience in. You are an idiot and I won't be checking to see if you reply to this.
It's nice to know that elementary educators are so sensitive to the concerns of their students' parents. At least I have finally heard an explanation for why cursive writing is taught. Incidentally, my kids are now in sixth grade and still can't write in cursive. I wish they were in anonymous' class.
ReplyDeleteI do have one problem with what anonymous has posted here: I keep looking, but I don't see any real "blanket statements" in the original post. However, to make myself perfectly understood, what I write here is my opinion, or it is based on my own observations. Clearly, my own observations don't constitute "blanket statements." They are merely concrete examples of a point I am trying to make. And the last I heard, I was entitled to have an opinion; however, it is apparent that if I don't share anonymous' opinion, I am an idiot. Perhaps I am. Perhaps it is a good thing my kids aren't in anonymous' class after all. I try to teach them to be more open minded than that.
One last comment: this blog is open to anyone who wishes to read it (including children, although I doubt many would be all that interested), and in the future, I would prefer if people would not use profanity.