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Comment: Missing the point, methinks. (Score 1) 857

by Antarctic Pirates (#29487369) Attached to: Cursive Writing Is a Fading Skill &mdash; Does It Matter?
The main point is about writing by hand in general and losing those skills over time, really. First cursive, then printing. The article brings up cursive as the precurser to a loss in handwriting skills, basically. Oh, but what's my point right? What with progress and whatnot. Well, imagine being in a situation where you are away from a computer or text-like device and needed to write something. If you couldn't accurately write something with pen/pencil and paper, you'd be totally boned. And unlike pencil and paper, computer files/texts can get corrupted. Or even lost if there's a power outtage. So really, losing cursive skills is something to be concerned about.

Cursive Writing Is a Fading Skill — Does It Matter? 857

Posted by kdawson
from the something's-gained-and-something's-lost dept.
antdude sends along an AP piece on the decline of the teaching of cursive writing in schools — ramifications of which we've discussed a few times before. "The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. In 2011, the writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress will require 8th and 11th graders to compose on computers, with 4th graders following in 2019. ... Handwriting is increasingly something people do only when they need to make a note to themselves rather than communicate with others, [an educator] said. Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting. 'I am not sure students have a sense of any reason why they should vest their time and effort in writing a message out manually when it can be sent electronically in seconds.'"

Comment: Space exploration has been happening... (Score 1) 108

by Antarctic Pirates (#29480835) Attached to: Crew For Final Scheduled Space Shuttle Mission Selected

Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. -- Mt.