Job Discussion Forums

[Sashadroogie]

Quite shocking really!!!!

What say the posters here?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22157892

[spiral78]

Couldn't come soon enough, for my part.
It's far too difficult to read, when someone's written some document in cursive. Handwriting is obviously very individual and distinctive under any circumstances, and when given the curves and loops and connectors and etc needed to write in cursive, it's just FAR too 'individual.'

Once a year, we have to require students to write a paper by hand as a part of an evaluative process. There are usually about 30 of these, and it's utter *ELL to read them. Honestly, I am convinced that students get lower marks on them sometimes than they might really deserve, just because they can be SO hard to decipher.

[Sashadroogie]

Surely that is argument for more training in handwriting, not less?

[spiral78]

Writing in (what is not-cursive? block letters?) non-cursive allows for far more standardization of shapes, making the product far easier to work with, IMO/E.

[Shonai Ben]

Even with proper training in elementary my handwriting was absolutely terrible and still is.
Worse than a doctor's scribble.......so,I basically switched to using block letters only.
Except when my signature is required of course.......

[Kofola]

Great topic, Sasha.

A few years ago when the new Czech handwriting script was developed for primary schools, there was quite a debate on this and I was quite struck by some of the academic research on the links between cognitive development and cursive writing.

I do feel that there is something in it. When writing something complex I always begin with pen and paper to stimulate my thinking and then switch to the computer when I'm ready to write the first draft. And it does seem to be the act of writing itself that stimulates my brain differently. Although that may just be because I'm from a different generation from the children in the video and I was brought up with pen and paper and not an ipad.

I'm not very up to date on the research into the impact of new technologies on students (perhaps someone else is?). I know that anecdotally students these days find it more difficult to sit and listen to lecturers and sustain concentration on one thing. This is also true anecdotally in the workplace and I often wonder if it is connected to increasing youth unemployment. (I know of managers that won't hire young people because in their experience they tend to jump from task to task and not do things in enough depth.)

Personally I suspect that we need both - to be able to type and write cursively (doesn't have to be copperplate style, but the letters should be joined together.) Or at the very least we shouldn't be hasty and sideline handwriting until we know more about the potential consequences. I think the video of the class is a fantastic example of how all these methods can be combined to make learning much more effective and I loved the way the kids were encouraged to look up images of the brain on their ipads and write the word down in their jotters.

[santi84]

Well, I will still use it to decorate cakes and call it ESP.