My Friends,
“In 1928, in Egypt, a strange device is found by an expedition. In the present days, the outcast linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson is invited by a mysterious woman to decipher an ancient hieroglyph in a military facility.” – Stargate. The giant husband was watching this 1994 ‘futuristic’ movie last night.
In the brief synopsis above the words, linguist, decipher and hieroglyph whisper like hidden pyramid treasures. Between fake Ra maiming humans and an awkward linguist deciphering glyphs, Stargate fashioned a perfect springboard for utilizing my Egyptian fella and chatting about the demise of handwriting. Centuries before we touched screens, our fingers created cryptic images, developed fascinating symbols and pressed elegant writing implements in thought.
In the Fall of 2014, the giant husband and I attended the delicate daughter’s Honor Society Ceremony. Yes, we were proud. She works very hard and strives to do well. The irony in this celebratory evening was that many bright students, the delicate daughter included, took a long time signing the Honor Ledger. Signing in cursive didn’t come naturally to them. And why would it, when third grade was the last time they practiced loops and lines.
Today while we record our history electronically, many students struggle with the very concept of handwriting. Human history was born the instant we began writing it down. Our ‘current’ history is saved to digital devices, removable media and clouds in the ozone. A solar flare, an electrical burst…yikes! We might want to rethink the importance of handwriting especially since synthetic paper can be made from recycled plastic. We can label the return to handwriting – Retro Ink. Maybe the kiddies will think it’s something cool. And perhaps we could use a slogan like – When you think, put it in ink!
Ra is the Egyptian Sun God and Father of the Gods. He symbolizes light, warmth and growth.
We grow by learning. We learn by reading. We read by writing… Thank you. May you dream of sailing on beautiful cursive letters with golden sails.
Ra created about one month ago for what reason I’m not sure other than to say I initially was planning to do some sort of bird… The pencil wants what the pencil wants. 🙂
Stargate Movie synopsis quote from IMDb.com
Sending thoughts of peace to France…
anntogether 
OMG (as kids write), I could write oodles and gobs about this very topic, Miss AM! “Retro ink” — “When you think, put it in ink” — love it! I so, so agree with you about cursive handwriting, and I also agree that reading and writing go hand-in-hand (E.M. Forster: “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”). Some experts (I don’t know them personally) say that messages from the brain travel down the arm to the page, yet writing as “typing” (and deleting) is not the same, and writing is weakened. I don’t know if I agree with that, but it’s interesting to think so. Anyhoo, I love your post — pure poetry, AM! — and the artwork is stunning. Rah Ra(h), to you! P.S.: Ponder this: Do you think an inability to write cursively affects drawing skills, particularly in the control of the artistic tool?
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I thank the stars that I have a laptop. Cutting, deleting and pasting chunks of text is critical to my brain function. I tend to write non-chronologically (is that a word?) and then have to move everything around so it makes sense for the reader and not just in my backwards head.
That being said or typed as the case may be 🙂 when I was in school, we wrote. We practiced our penmanship with block letters then moved onto cursive. We practiced cursive for several years. Our writing papers had to be written in cursive too.
Today, when I sub, I observe all ages and their lack of handwriting skills (not even getting into the reading/writing…here) Their handwriting skills are sorely lacking. Unfortunately, teachers have their hands full with many agendas…it leaves little time for the basics.
As far as cursive and art. I don’t think it hurts to be able to be more versed in moving a writing/drawing tool in many directions. 🙂
My own kiddies, don’t do script well – an yes, I too could have worked with them at home, but I didn’t. Perhaps, I should print this post out and glue it to my wall. 🙂
AM 🙂
Top of the day to ya or is that top of the muffin! (A little Seinfeld humor never hurts on a Thursday)
Thanks for the kind words 🙂
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Actually, computers were a godsend to me — I could delete so quickly! 🙂 I used to scroll a piece of paper into the typewriter and then, in disgust, rip/yank it out so harshly the rollers made a high-pitched whine (I fidget with beginnings, which I know is dumb). I have my students keep journals, handwritten ones, and I keep a notebook myself (not diligently), so I do believe in the use of hand-writing. I’ve noticed that most young people print these days; I’ve also noticed that my own cursive handwriting is worse than ever (I should be a doctor!) and know that if my mother were alive I’d get scolded for it. You have nice handwriting — I’ve seen it in your posts. Top of the evening-muffin-top to ya! 🙂
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🙂 Journals are wonderful things to keep. You’re inspiring your students to write beyond someday!
My script is atrocious. My print can be okay if I write very slowly. You must be referring to the slow writing 🙂
There was a certain sense of release ripping the old typeing paper from the roller 🙂
Your mom wouldn’t have scolded you, she would’ve tried convincing you into becoming a veterinarian 😉
yada, yada, yada
AM 🙂
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My Lily is a third grader this year, and learning to write cursive has been one of the highlights of her year so far. I am thankful that, at least for now, the school she attends still makes learning cursive a priority. Her keyboarding skills are still hunt-and-peck, and we have talked about working on them at home, but she is most proud of her ability to write in cursive. Journaling is a must in my scrapbooking, and I take a certain pride that the thing most often commented on when sharing them is my handwriting. Going through my mother’s things, what most often pulls me in to the moment is a random piece of paper with her handwriting on it. Will our great-grandchildren take screenshots of the love letter e-mails they receive? Something precious will be lost if cursive goes by the wayside. Yikes, I certainly got on top of my soapbox here…I’ve been doing that a lot lately!
I love your glorious Ra! 🙂 – Fawn
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Fawn,
“Screenshots of love letters,” those words sum up my entire verbose post!
Lily is fortunate to have writing tightly woven into the curriculum. I know many schools, don’t focus on handwriting beyond the initial introduction and application while learning. The follow thru doesn’t follow to the grades beyond.
I admire beautiful handwriting especially cursive. I have and always have had awful penmanship. I think the nuns in Catholic School might have prayed for my handwriting soul 😉
I thank you for your kind words too.
AM 🙂
I hope you’re not too blue this evening.
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We love Stargate, have the entire series box set! Great point, Ann. Handwriting has been fading away for so long now and it’s sad. Honestly, I print mostly these days. I can still write Cursive but not as effectively, this coming from a 1979 graduate. Great topic!!
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Stargate is a cool movie. I only the version with Kurt Russell. Never fear, John – my handwriting, both cursive and print is pretty atrocious and I really try 🙂
AnnMarie 🙂
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By coincidence I’m sitting in the waiting room of a car dealership waiting for my SmartCar to get a new headlight. I had to sign a release form authorizing the work. I commented to the service writer how odd it felt to sign my signature. I even have a signature brush I created in Photoshop that I use to stamp my signature on my photos and art works. I seldom write paper checks anymore so it’ s awkward having to sign my name. 🙂
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SO you have one of those really cool cars! My giant husband doesn’t fit in many vehicles – unless the seat can go flat. 😉 I constantly struggle with handwriting. Often times, I look at notes I’ve written and make pretend I understand my original thoughts – that’s scary 🙂 You have all the cool gadgets, Bob. I never heard of a sig. brush before.
AnnMarie 🙂
Hope your coffee group is enjoying the New Year so far!
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We are. I love my beautiful ladies as if they were reading my blog. 🙂 LOL
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I gotta make it northwest to that coffee group of yours one of these years 😉
AnnMarie 🙂
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We’re changing locations to a different McDonald’s tomorrow morning. Shhhh, it’s a secret. 🙂
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Girl Scouts Honor – I won’t tell a soul (the cost for my silence is free cookies 😉 )
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Darn, I ate all my oatmeal cinnamon raisin cookies I got for Christmas.
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Too bad.
I’ll let you off easy this time 😉
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They are no longer teaching handwriting in Chicago public schools. If I send a note to my grandchildren then have to have someone read it to them…even if I sometimes print/write. Pathetic. They can pretty much only read typed material. So, as you said, if something happens to our electronic system…good luck…although they can print beautifully.
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It’s wild to think the amount of time invested in handwriting years ago. As a sub teacher, I often observe students writing. I think there is a correlation between comprehension and note taking. Students aren’t writing enough in general. Your grandchildren are on a good path if they can print well.
AnnMarie 🙂
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I love the bird, forgot to tell you:)
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🙂
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My own penmanship and keyboard accuracy has suffered with the introduction of the electronic screen. I actually learned how to type on an old manual typewriter! Our high school was in a poor district, as other schools had already to the high tech IBM Selectrics!
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Hi Glenda,
What’s old is new again. My sister’s ten-year-old daughter asked for an electric typewriter – claiming, “they’re cool!”
I still write quite a bit by hand, but my penmanship/handwriting started out bad and has gotten worse 🙂 I can’t imagine you with all your beautiful crafts ever creating ‘sloppy’ letters 🙂
AnnMarie 🙂
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