Another fine contribution from Prof. Brands on the state of literacy and in particular writing in our time.
Written language and linguistic structures expand our powers of representation into unbelievable limits to what we are capable of knowing. This symbolic power is the most mysterious of the ways we have of knowing because it opened a world of words and human culture. I don't think we will ever lose the written word. It gives us the time to ponder and exercise our imagination through the creations we construct with words. Poetry is a good example as we think about the work and the beautiful rhythms and choice of words and multiple meanings that the work can generate.
We may exist at some level without this means, but without it we limit our potential to grow.
I am one of those "can read faster than people speak." I get very frustrated when someone wants to send me "information" or "evidence" of something and it's a link to a Youtube video! UGH!
I do not lament the passing of cursive. It is of course the subject of intense debate. I see the pro-cursive side as presenting more of an emotional argument but trying to frame it scientifically. Humans have been reading "print" since Gutenberg! Then newspapers. I had a shop class in 8th grade for printing where we set type and made our own business cards. And now with computers, the need for it is unnecessary.
Cursive is a throwback to using quills which made cursive necessary. IMO cursive should be an optional class in schools right there with caligraphy, perhaps part of art class.
I, too, can read faster than people speak and I loathe having to watch a video or listen to speech when I can read and comprehend a transcript much faster.
My fear, as the need for literacy diminishes, is that we will enter a semi-dark age where people lose the wisdom of the ages because they choose not to read it. As Mark Twain famously said, "The man who doesn't read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."
As a high school teacher, I see that already my students know so much less than we did. I fear that if generations become so used to hearing information rather than reading it for themselves, the opportunity for misinformation only grows.
As for writing, there is truth to the notion that writing something down cements it into your brain more than tapping keys or passive listening. Being able to write neatly is important, and cursive training develops those fine motor skills. My students who didn't learn cursive still have handwriting that looks like a second grader's. Will writing cease to exist? Maybe, but I doubt it.
I fully agree. When I was in college my note taking was to write my notes in class, later type them in my dorm room, then finally read them for study. Three steps.
As a former teacher too, though a band teacher I on occasion had to sub or help on other disciplines, it was disheartening to see the low level of writing and reading. ( I was tested at 12th grade reading as a 5th grader and almost enrolled in a speed reading class at the local community college as a 6th grader but the college said no).
Kids just don't do enough reading and writing to be as literate as you and I think they should be.
Another fine contribution from Prof. Brands on the state of literacy and in particular writing in our time.
Written language and linguistic structures expand our powers of representation into unbelievable limits to what we are capable of knowing. This symbolic power is the most mysterious of the ways we have of knowing because it opened a world of words and human culture. I don't think we will ever lose the written word. It gives us the time to ponder and exercise our imagination through the creations we construct with words. Poetry is a good example as we think about the work and the beautiful rhythms and choice of words and multiple meanings that the work can generate.
We may exist at some level without this means, but without it we limit our potential to grow.
I am one of those "can read faster than people speak." I get very frustrated when someone wants to send me "information" or "evidence" of something and it's a link to a Youtube video! UGH!
I do not lament the passing of cursive. It is of course the subject of intense debate. I see the pro-cursive side as presenting more of an emotional argument but trying to frame it scientifically. Humans have been reading "print" since Gutenberg! Then newspapers. I had a shop class in 8th grade for printing where we set type and made our own business cards. And now with computers, the need for it is unnecessary.
Cursive is a throwback to using quills which made cursive necessary. IMO cursive should be an optional class in schools right there with caligraphy, perhaps part of art class.
I, too, can read faster than people speak and I loathe having to watch a video or listen to speech when I can read and comprehend a transcript much faster.
My fear, as the need for literacy diminishes, is that we will enter a semi-dark age where people lose the wisdom of the ages because they choose not to read it. As Mark Twain famously said, "The man who doesn't read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."
As a high school teacher, I see that already my students know so much less than we did. I fear that if generations become so used to hearing information rather than reading it for themselves, the opportunity for misinformation only grows.
As for writing, there is truth to the notion that writing something down cements it into your brain more than tapping keys or passive listening. Being able to write neatly is important, and cursive training develops those fine motor skills. My students who didn't learn cursive still have handwriting that looks like a second grader's. Will writing cease to exist? Maybe, but I doubt it.
I fully agree. When I was in college my note taking was to write my notes in class, later type them in my dorm room, then finally read them for study. Three steps.
As a former teacher too, though a band teacher I on occasion had to sub or help on other disciplines, it was disheartening to see the low level of writing and reading. ( I was tested at 12th grade reading as a 5th grader and almost enrolled in a speed reading class at the local community college as a 6th grader but the college said no).
Kids just don't do enough reading and writing to be as literate as you and I think they should be.