Technology might soon make elementary school lessons obsolete.....

      An article I came across some time ago and had set it aside. It was of course, in one of my local newspapers and it had slipped my mind. I came across it again this morning and thought it was still worth passing along.

     "Students in Debbie Camp's third grade class stand, forcing their arms to create large sweeping motions in the air.
      The lesson is cursive writing and they are forming giant letters on imaginary paper, drawing peaks and valleys before trailing off into a cliff-hanging plateau. Today's letter is V.
      Learning cursive handwriting is a long-standing rite of passage for elementary students that teachers say improves small motor skills and trains students in an art form that has been used throughout American history.
      But by the time Mrs. Camp's students go to college, cursive could become so rarely used that it almost seems quaint, handwriting experts say."
      It seems so very sad that such an art form is going to be lost to the archives of time. If children are no longer going to be taught the art of cursive handwriting, how will they ever be able to read the thousands and thousands of documents that have been written since the beginning of time? What form of discipline will replace the lost art of cursive handwriting?
      "Experts say technology, email, text messaging, electronic banking and standardized testing are making cursive unnecessary. Although cursive is taught in third grade classrooms in Texas, educators say it is taking a back seat to core disciplines such as math and reading."
      Well, let us discuss math as an example of moving forward in the fast paced world we live in. Children attending school, not so long ago, were taught the basic principles with subjects such as trigonometry, calculus, algebra, division and multiplying, to mention a few.
     Today's children who enter math classes are taught to enter a given set of numbers on their mandated calculators and see what answer is given back to them. The art of learning the basics are pretty much gone. The attitude is, there is no need because the calculator will always give the right answer. Yet they do not have a clue as to how to get to the answer.
      Is this what we want for our children, now about to lose the art of cursive handwriting? I never would have thought that this would be put away or discarded, but it seems that it is already happening.
     Just for a moment, what if we were to carry this out a little further, like with cultures? There are many different cultures around the world today, each one unique to itself. A sense of belonging, a sense of pride, right? What if we were true ly going to have a "one world"? 
     Would you be able to decide which culture will wind up on the top of the heap, to be followed by everyone else? Would you be so willing to give up your cultural background for the sake of a world of sameness? Who gets to decided these details? See what I mean?
     "Dr. Frances van Tassel, a University of North Texas professor, says she rues the day students can no longer read the Declaration of Independence or other historical documents penned in cursive. Another professor goes so far as to say handwritten communication as we know it could be gone for good."
     "I don't think it is hard to visualize in the very near future we do not write anymore," said Jill Fox, a University of Texas at Arlington professor. "Signatures may be outmoded before too long."
      It will most certainly a sad day when we lose the art of cursive forever as far as I am concerned. A trivial matter in some respects, but the dexterity lessons learned will also be lost.