What should “the basics” be
Some school subjects and skills have been considered “the basics” since formal schools began — such as reading, writing and arithmetic. But, the notion that cursive writing, long division and learning how to tell time on a radial clock are no longer needed is, in my opinion, absolute nonsense. They are simply aspects of learning to write and do arithmetic.
Yet, on the subject of handwriting, Kathryn Blaze Carlson writes in yesterday’s National Post in a “Back to School” feature:
“With all of today’s typing and texting, the swirly strokes of an uppercase “F” or other distinctive cursives are verging on extinction, leaving some to wonder whether the craft of penmanship is anything more than a useless relic.”
Useless relic? Hardly. Printing is a very slow painstaking process and the reason cursive writing was invented in the first place was to speed up that process.
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stageleft Says:
One might as well lament the passing of the sun dial, Egyptian hieroglyphics, the steam engine, honest politicians (if they ever actually existed), and (among a great many other other things) papyrus.
Time and technology change many things now don’t they?
Posted on September 8th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Sandy Says:
Stageleft — And, with respect to “the basics” — your point is?
Posted on September 8th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
mike Says:
It seems that the schools are spending more time and effort on social engineering and sex education than on the three R’s. It’s pretty bad that the teaching of all aspects of sexuality issues are mandated when studies show that many graduates are functionally illiterate and can’t add or subtract without a calculator. But I guess if you are not well enough educated to get a good paying job, you will know how not to get pregnant (or get your girl pregnant) and end up on welfare. So I guess there is some value there. sarc off now.
mid island mike
Posted on September 8th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Sandy Says:
Hi Mike,
I just noticed your messages. For some reason, I didn’t get them. I’ll go in now and delete the first one, which is a repeat of part of the second one. I’ve been having problems to with slowness on the Internet — not just here at JN but everywhere. Wonder why. Back to school over usage?
Posted on September 9th, 2009 at 11:24 am
stageleft Says:
@sandy: Once upon a time cursive writing was “a basic” because it was the best way to generate the written word – people don’t write much any more, they type.
Why is reading an analog clock “a basic”? Like the sun dial they have fallen out of use in favour of the digital format.
Long division is nice to know, but in an age where if we all don’t have calculators we probably do have cell phones or black berry units in our pockets that come with calculator applications built in, so which is more important – knowing how to use the application we have, or knowing how the application arrived at the answer it did?
There have been people in every age and generation that have lamented the passing of something that they considered to be a basic, and in their day and age it was – but things change, and with those changes “the basics” change as well.
Posted on September 9th, 2009 at 5:51 pm