Cursive Writing: a future obscure code?
The idea of cursive writing as fading away into obscurity seems probable. And, for it to become a form of writing that not everyone can decode will be inevitable. Why teach it, other than the practice of it is supposed to be good for developing neural pathways. But, humans existed long before cursive writing and developed healthy neural pathways.
Will the evolution of writing produce more disconnections between generations? My sons can’t read my mother’s perfect and beautiful cursive writing. I have to “translate” her birthday cards to them. What will we lose when we can’t read it anymore as a society? Or is it insignificant?
I’ve been thinking about this for a few years now, not all the time, but now and then. I was writing a novel for young readers about time travel, and I was considering a bit in it where my protagonist goes into a future where she and her sidekick can decode “the code” which is cursive writing, and how that becomes a valuable skill and perhaps saves their lives in some way. It’s fun to think about.
Twenty years ago when I lived in Japan, I recall a Japanese friend telling me that she couldn’t read the stylized Japanese writing that is found in some temples, and some art, I think it is a form of Kanji (it is very fluid and flowing) It reminded me of cursive writing in English. It stuck with me, and it was beautiful. That makes me imagine cursive writing on t-shirts one day, not for the content of the words, but only for the form, or the perceived art of it.
Which goes back to thoughts of Japan, and of T-shirts and the strange fashion of having English writing on T-shirts and other products that was nonsensical. It was there for the fashion of it and the actual words were meaningless to the people wearing the clothes or buying the products, but for an English reader, it was a combination of distracting, amusing, and sometimes very strange.
One thing I have noticed in my class is that the students love to hear stories. They often ask if I can tell them stories, and it is surprising to me that they seem to crave this type of oral communication. They are a very noisy bunch and talk to each other a lot, but they also want to hear stories. I wish I had a smaller group so we could all sit on the Bison hide and have a story time.
One other interesting thing about living and teaching in the Yukon is that the First Nations here are very actively trying to revitalize their languages. I am very interested in this, and in their successes and what that means to their cultures. In the school where I teach, Southern Tutchone is a part of the curriculum. A teacher of that language who recently retired is responsible for creating the written form of Southern Tutchone. I believe he started working on this in the mid-1970s. In doing so, he has made his language more accessible and one can study it online at the Native Language Centre through Yukon College.
Does the evolution of new technologies mean the death of old technologies, like cursive writing? Or is there more of an integration, and not a death?
What do humans need to maintain intelligence? How has our use of time changed because of the Internet?
Will our age be lost to the distant future because our digital records will be so obscure that they will not be able to be decoded? Or, will the records of our society be so fragile and obsolete in form that there will simply be no records?
“Will our age be lost to the distant future because our digital records will be so obscure that they will not be able to be decoded? Or, will the records of our society be so fragile and obsolete in form that there will simply be no records?”
Fair question, we do have those issues now a days, take the example of early digital art (if you are interested in this topic I recommend you Artifacts (redux) by Benjamen Walker, a good representative of a genre that I love because it allows me to drink while learning). Now, specifically about cursive, I think any code that becomes obsolete that somehow interferes with our daily lives deserves a thoroughly revision, for example, is it worthy to maintain Morse code alive for reasons beyond nostalgia? I don’t know if this is the case of cursive, what do you think?
Now, let me point out to a recent case that involved cursive “in real life”. And an interesting analysis published in Live science.
Hi, We had many debates on this issue in my middle school staffroom last year. One teacher was discouraged from teaching cursive by administration. I just read an interesting article on the topic just 15 minutes before coming across your post as well: http://dmlcentral.net/cursive-writing-and-the-importance-of-teaching-skills/.
On a separate note, your story about Southern Tutchone would fit in very well with ETEC 521, a course I highly recommend. It also relates well to the Ong reading for this course, and the idea of taking a language from orality to literacy rather suddenly, and what that new literacy might look like with a lot of vestiges of the oral culture still present.
Hello rrtoronto,
Thanks for the link to the article. I read it right away. I think it’s better not to bring it up in my staff room, haha . . . unless I want a long debate . . . I appreciate your comments, and the heads up on the ETEC 521 course.
cheers,
Pamela
Interesting questions, Pamela, and an interesting article, rtoronto. I personally love to teach handwriting – partly because I believe it will potentially become almost a lost form of art. I love the fluidity (sometimes…) of it and I am in the camp that still believes it helps to develop neural pathways. As this is my first course in the MET program, I have to admit, I am fairly deeply entrenched still in my beliefs of the importance of cursive writing, printing, and so on – I have not yet reached a point where I understand all that technology has to offer and I tend to rank tasks that do not require a computer on a higher level than those that do require a computer. Having said that, I do have my class enrolled in the computer lab three times per week to practice computer-related skills as well. Interestingly, at our most recent staff meeting, whether we should continue to teach our students “typing skills” was questioned. I was surprised by this as I would guess that most jobs my students (who are currently 9 or 10 years old) will be applying for in the future will require the use of a computer. I suppose we could argue that they have enough screen time at home, but I would question whether they receive appropriate screen time. And just like learning a language, I believe learning skills like cursive writing and typing are best begun during elementary school so that students are able to develop skills (and become comfortable with them) from an early age and then build on those skills as they grow older.
Hi Mary,
I really enjoyed reading your comments!! I am having all kinds of new feeling and ideas around what skills to teach and not to teach. I don’t think I’ve come to any clear answers yet. Awhile ago, I would have said yes to teaching cursive writing and typing, but now I’m not as sure. I am a good typist, I think, but I’m not brilliant at it, because I learned to type in grade 9 on a typewriter. I recall my mother telling me to learn it well enough so I didn’t have to look at the keyboard, but to do it for myself, not to do it for a job. I think she didn’t want me to be anyone’s “secretary”. On the other hand, my husband, who has a Phd, is a “chicken” or Hen pecking typist!! He’s quiet fast at his style of typing, and he is a brilliant mind. So, I’m not sure about even the importance of typing skills anymore? And, lately, I am feeling like the students, who are all “digital natives” don’t really need time to “learn” how to use the computers, but need time using the computers for producing their work/writing/ as well as researching on all these school sites that have been vetted and not so much on google. Today we had a Pro D day, and it was jammed packed, I didn’t get to speak to any colleagues, or have much time to eat or relax! There are so many things we are “supposed” to be aware of online and it is rather overwhelming as I just started teaching a grade 6/7 class (but I’ve been teaching adults for 20 years, so I’m not really a “new” teacher). I’m just not sure how I feel about note taking, writing, typing, any of it!! Haha. But, one good thing is that I feel excited in my uncertainty because I think my uncertainty means I am actively thinking about it all and I am interested in my students and what is best for them. I am also feeling more and more interested in how students are going to encounter so many different kinds of teachers, who are all over the map when it comes to how to and what to teach!! Students do not have continuity when it comes to teaching methods from year to year, and now more than ever. I feel really happy to be in the teaching job and at the amazing school where I am. I love to hear how others are feeling about such things as cursive writing and “typing” and using computers/iPads etc .
So, thanks!!
Pamela
Hello Everyone,
Great article and comments. As someone who struggled with handwriting when it was not optional (to the point my parents made me take a correspondence italics course to try and make it legible), I have been very interested in this debate. Is it just nostalgia that makes me want to hang on to it?
It also reminds me of a story told by a colleague a year ago or so. Her teenage son was given a car and had to sign the papers. He turned to her and asked, “How do I sign my name?” Will printed signatures become the norm (which would be difficult to distinguish) until someday we all have some kind of digital stamp? One wonders.
Mary
Hello Mary! Yes, I am thinking about the whole nostalgia angle too. From 1992 to 1995, I lived in Japan. When I arrived, one of the really important things I had to get was a “hanko” or stamp of my name in Japanese so I could “sign” formal documents!! It was very weird not to sign my name while I lived there, but use the stamp instead. I also am thinking of teaching my grade 6/7 students to sign their names, as well as how to read cursive writing. Some of them want to practice their cursive writing, but only about 20 percent. It is one of those issues that a lot of people my age or maybe any age can get very emotional about! I still enjoy writing cursively when I make grocery lists or take notes at a meeting, but that’s the only times that I have been noticing that I use it. Thanks for your comments on this topic. Pamela
This discussion on cursive writing and the ability to sign your name is one that has happened in our staff room at school and in my classroom with my grade 6 or 7 students. I remember learning cursive writing in grade 3 and after that we were expected to write everything in cursive. ( I also remember teaching myself to write things backwards so I could send “secret” notes to my friends that they would have to read in the mirror.) Writing, and being able to do so quickly and neatly, was so important when I was growing up. It was something that we took pride in.
Even when I started teaching 8 years ago most students (in middle school) could write in cursive. Many chose to print instead as they found it quicker and their work was neater. The last group of students I taught only 4 out of 60 could actually write in cursive. Most couldn’t even sign their name properly. Perhaps it won’t be long until we have to stamp our name or, perhaps more likely, use a fingerprint as a signature. This has also led me to think that perhaps all writing, not just cursive, will be seen as a future obscure code. Will it be important for the next generation to even learn to write or will they simply type everything? And like you mentioned Pamela, what happens if we somehow lose this technology, will there be enough artifacts for future cultures to have an understanding of who we were as people and what was important to us?