Changes

I understand that cursive writing is being discontinued in elementary education. No more penmanship grades on report cards, although neatness may be marked. Hmm.

It makes me wonder. Wasn't there something about the fluidity of connecting those curvy letters that contributed to clear thinking? For years I kept a handwritten journal. The process helped me gain insights and work through problems.

In the old days men didn't consider fine writing sissy. My father and my Uncle Tom prided themselves on their handwriting, the result of much practice. We have a handwritten letter to his mother from my great-grandfather Daniel, off fighting the Civil War.

Which reminds me. In our university archives is said to be a series of diaries kept by an early  20th Century immigrant in a form of German no longer used. They are unlikely ever to be translated. So what will become of our handwritten documents in years to come? Will there need to be college courses in reading cursive?

I do like easily readable printing and I'm all in favor of computers, but I would miss the surprise of a familiar handwriting on an envelope in the mail.