"There was no hollow promise that life would reward you."

[greygirlbeast]

So, yesterday was utter, unadulterated shit. Today has to be better, because I'm too tired for it to be worse. This morning I have a raging headache, and it's still, so far, a better day than was yesterday. At least there's intermittent sunlight out there, and it's a little warmer. Currently, in Providence, it's 79˚F, which a heat index of 82˚F.

Comments

[shanejayell]

I at least hope teachers are slapping down kids who submit reports with all those made up words and crap. If I got a report with 'adorbs' in it I'd flunk them on the spot.

[greygirlbeast]

"But...but...you're suppressing their CREATIVITY!" (insert whine) "You'll give them the autism! Trigger! Trigger!"

[greygirlbeast]

Yup.

[setsuled]

I live in a world where children are no longer being taught cursive. Apparently, this has been going on for some time, but I was only recently made aware of it.

Oh, I didn't know about that either. I guess it must reflect a feeling that people don't need to write quickly with a pen or pencil anymore. Which is really a shame because I think writing cursive in a notebook allows the mind to express itself in a manner different from typing on a computer. It seems like I remember reading an article about a study that confirmed this notion--googling now, I can't find it but this one and a few others say something similar.

[greygirlbeast]

Well...I was about to thank you for the link to the article, until I read some nonsense about pads restoring the importance of handwriting or some such malarky.

Here it is: "But in an interesting twist, new software for touch-screen devices, such as the iPad, is starting to reinvigorate the practice."

[setsuled]

I had yet another person, a couple days ago, recommend to me that I start drawing on a new tablet that uses a stylus. Even in the unlikely event this allows me to do the same thing I do with a pencil and a paper, why would I want to pay three hundred dollars for something I can do with a pencil and a paper?

[greygirlbeast]

A lot of people I work with in comics have begun drawing digitally. I hold my tongue and don't tell them how much this baffles and angers me. It was bad enough when so much lettering went digital.

[elmocho]

I have a lecture about examining handwriting for genealogy, using more or less what we think of as cursive: Roundhand/copperplate to Spencerian to Palmer method. When I got this gig I thought my ability to read stuff in gothic hands might prove useful, but more and more it's that I can read cursive.

I always get questions about the future of cursive, which are a little beyond the scope of the talk, but I have a large bibliography of books chronicling its history, possible demise and rebirth.

If the schools aren't teaching it, my kid's certainly going to learn how, but I'm tempted to teach him printed italic and then cursive italic-- same letterforms, just more joined up-- to see what happens.

[greygirlbeast]

but more and more it's that I can read cursive.

I suppose we are headed for a minority.

[elmocho]

"Job security."

So many old forms, filled in by hand: birth certificates, death certificates, the whole blasted U.S. Federal Census from 1790-1940, at least.

The story goes that early on, Ancestry had something OCR the Census and then had some other country double check the transcriptions, so they had anomalies like "Charles" being rendered as "Charla" due to someone know knowing their A's from their S's. I always tell people to look at the image of the sheet rather than the transcription.

In personal terms, it just means my NSA handler will have to find someone to read my diary when they finally haul me off.

[greygirlbeast]

Wait, I did not ever suggest skipping straight to typewriters. Or did I misread that?

I never liked it much when I was learning it, but then when you're at school it isn't just about learning what you like, is it?

It was a rite of passage, learning cursive in third grade. It meant we were "big kids."

[alumiere]

Seriously? No more cursive? Soon people will be "signing" their names with Xs regardless of their education levels (note I don't fault people who can't read/write because of disability or lack of education, we're failing them).

[greygirlbeast]

Maybe we'll just use thumbprints.