random poll

[rm]

Super busy. Am suddenly curious about this. Apparently most kids entering college in the US this year don't know how to write in cursive. I suspect this is less a sign of the apocalypse than it feels like to me.

So, tell me things (as usual, poll is un-scientific and reflects my biases and experiences (and 49-year-olds can choose which age category they like better!) -- if the boxes don't work, my apologies and comments super welcome.):

[Poll #1607173]

Comments

[billijean.livejournal.com]

I learnt to sew, cook and some woodworking basics at home, however; I did have to take home-ec in grades 7 and 8. I did not learn a single new thing (oh, except that part where if you hit puberty early and fast, the home ec teacher accuses you of making out with boys you've never met, because big tits make you dirty even when you're twelve. That was new to me.)

I learnt to drive at age 22, in private lessons I spent grocery money on, so I could get away from my abusive boyfriend.

I have never learnt to type. This was a conscious decision I made in grade 10 so that I wouldn't take the easy route and become a secretary or something. I had very high scores in the maths and sciences and wanted to study science at university, but the guidance counsellors at my blue-collar high school that was kind of absurd and why put all that work in for a crazy 4-year degree when I could go to college for two and have a decent job. Sheesh. So, I refused to learn to type or to take any accounting etc classes in high school. The not typing thing is kind of a handicap now, of course, and I've considered learning. But ehh.

As for cursive . . . you may remember some of my musings on this as I remember that you weighed in on some of them. Since J was so reluctant to learn to write, I had to be very careful of my approach. I read a lot and asked around a lot and this is what I discovered: cursive is easier than printing, faster and it solves problems kids have with printing letters backwards. Some homeschoolers keep printing instruction quick and move on to cursive a year or two before it is traditionally done.

J found this to be true and was relieved because he found printing tedious and difficult (mostly because he hated the idea of it, I think). Once he learned cursive, he stopped printing altogether. Also, he still does most of his schoolwork by hand, on lined paper, even though he learned to type before he learned to print and is good at it. But maybe I'm old fashioned and fussy ;)

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Oh! Now there's a thought. I wonder if dyslexia is worse in people who haven't become comfortable with cursive?

[billijean.livejournal.com]

I have heard that to be the case, but couldn't point you to an authoritative source.