Is the Keyboard Mightier than the Pen?

When you sit down with pen and paper, how do you write? Do you write in cursive, block or do you cast aside all antiquated trappings and simply sit down to a computer and compose your prose? I was listening to a NPR story the other day on the subject. In recent weeks, Indiana has passed a law allowing schools to no longer focus on the teaching of cursive. The state determined that the prevalence of computers and e-books have made the teaching of cursive superfluous and therefore, not needed. This law takes effect during the upcoming school year. As an educator, I would challenge such an assertion as the state of Indiana would make and would suggest that the long term implications of such a move are underappreciated and possibly dangerous.

Now, it might strike the casual reader as a bit absurd to criticize the state of Indiana’s measure while typing on a computer. However, modernizations should not be allowed to impede upon classical and fundamental skills. Mohandas Gandhi once wrote that bad handwriting was the sign of an incomplete education. At its most basic level, the art of cursive handwriting is an exercise of fine motor skills which, if lost, might prove detrimental for the student. On a broader scope, cursive writing is not just an exercise in writing but in thinking as well. Cursive requires an economy of thought and intellect. Writing on a computer is so easy that the art of concise and cogent argument is lost because time is no longer a restriction. When one considers the notion of texting and Facebook messaging, writing as a form of communication is no longer viable. If you write but don’t say anything, is it still communication?

Another advantage of cursive is the discipline to write. The ability of the student to focus and stay on task on a subject for long periods of time is dwindling. Acquiescing to the world of texts and messaging, along with similar education moves in other fields, is creating a collective ADD complex among our students and gradually, our adults as well. The key to knowledge and enlightenment is to be able concentrate and focus long enough to understand. Throughout society, various agents provide stimuli that encourage a lack of focus and stamina. As social commentator Neil Postman once said, schools must provide what the students do not have – in this case, endurance in study.

Lastly, cursive instruction will not only teach our students to write it but to read it as well. Once cursive writing becomes esoteric, what will happen to Americans’ understanding of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution? Will their understanding be at the mercy of the few who can still comprehend cursive and translate it to typed text? This might sound a bit overzealous and perhaps paranoid, however, this is where the line of thinking goes. And it is easy to write off as paranoia what is not universally held today. As with education, most thinking today is short-sighted with little to no thought of the long term. There is a danger there.

If it is true that the role of schools is to provide what students do not have, then students do not need more instruction on typing but rather, they need the skill of cursive. They need the stamina and intellectual endurance that cursive instruction could provide. This approach is applicable and needs to be seen in all fields of study in American schools. Teachers and education specialists should never say, “we are getting rid of this” or “we are changing that” because it takes too long or it is too hard. We must, as educators, hold the line and hold high the standard. That is not done by acquiescing to what is easier.

What’s the Matter with Kansas? Actually, nothing.

In August 1896, a frustrated and angry William Allen White wrote an article for the Emporia Gazette called, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” White’s problem was that provincial and small minded businessmen and politicians were keeping an atmosphere of Kansas as a “can’t do” state, to use the modern vernacular. He complained of a migrating Kansas population to sexier western destinations like Denver, Des Moines (I know, that was a strange one for me too) and Minneapolis – to name a few. He argued that, unless Kansas was able to look forward, it will continue to be laughed at or dismissed.

When I first visited Kansas, many of my friends thought I was being a bit facetious about my love for the state. However, when I drive through the state or talk to the people, I feel comfortable and at home. The extent of the average American’s knowledge of Kansas is likely limited to The Wizard of Oz, its place in the middle of Tornado Alley or that it is at the center of the United States. However, there is much more to the people who call Kansas home and the state itself.

I come from the city and being in a rural area makes for a natural adjustment but within this bucolic, pristine state lays the history of the country and the story of the people who settled and worked the land. One of the great things Kansas has to offer is a glimpse back to those times. For example, one can visit the site of the signing of the pro-slavery constitution which triggered the period known as “bleedin’ Kansas” in Lecompton. The Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway was home to a training school and is a step back into the classrooms and buildings that made up the site. Additionally, the Kansas Historical Museum in Topeka is a wonderful display of the state’s history.

However, one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced took place in the middle of nowhere in western Kansas, along Interstate 70. I was traveling from Denver to Topeka and had left very early. I reached western Kansas around four in the morning. There was no traffic. On either side of the road stretched prairie and farm land. I pulled the car over and laid upon the hood and starred at the most star-studded night I’d seen in a long time. There was no noise except for the wind whipping through the prairie on either side of the highway. Meanwhile, I watched the sky begin to light up – first a ribbon and then a slow saturation. As light began to infiltrate the night sky, the wonderful and majestic landscape opened up around me. Besides the road, everything would have been as it was in the 1800s. I was experiencing wonders as the first settlers would have.

As I traveled that road for the rest of my trip, I ran into one helpful and generous person after another. I was exposed to just how great the people from Kansas are. Sure, there is the Wizard of Oz and the U.S. center is situated near Lebanon, Kansas. However, there is much more and as often as I’ve been to the Sunflower State, there is much more left for me to discover and I cannot wait.

Israel's Perplexing Problem

Israel is one of the more interesting and controversial countries in the world. Those who pay attention to the news seldom are neutral over Israel. However, Israel represents an exception to traditional American and world thinking. Traditionally, we favor the underdog, the country or person with everything against it. This makes the case of Israel even more intriguing. There seems to be a growing voice in world politics against the country that stands on its own, surrounded by countries that want to drive it into the sea. Seldom has such a country been characterized as the bully but the tiny country that stands at the precipice of destruction is seen by some as just that. The reason is an idea that no sane individual would agree with – terrorism is a justifiable tactic.

Every country in the world has the right to protect its borders but Israel does not. Constantly, organizations and activists attempt to violate Israeli waters and enter Palestine illegally at a time when Israel is constantly worried about missile attacks from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians are getting their missiles some way and only Israel would be criticized for attempting to stop the attacks on their own citizens.

Every country has the right to protect the integrity and security of its country but Israel does not. The proposed boundaries by President Obama in recent months suggest boundaries that would be untenable but Palestinians and its international allies would appreciate such considerations. Not only would a Palestinian state be created, for the first time in history, but Israel would be so weakened and so vulnerable, it makes the possible elimination of the country easier.

Every country has the right to expect friendship from “friends” but Israel does not. The United States, Israel’s most ardent supporter since its creation in 1948, is no longer showing the type of backing that it traditionally has taken as its responsibility. It partly explains the unprecedented scolding by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards President Obama during a joint photo session during the Israeli leader’s last visit.

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer made the point that whenever the past presidents attempted to get Israel to the peace tables, they did so by suggesting Israel must make steps towards peace. However, the results led to no steps towards peace by the Palestinians. To add insult to outrage, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to do an end run around American requirements for statehood by going directly to the United Nations. The deck is stacked against the Israelis. A recent political cartoon titled “World’s favorite sport” showed a circle of feet surrounding a soccer ball with the words Israel emblazoned across it.

Over the last couple of decades, the Palestinians have been making their case with terrorist attacks in the form of missiles and suicide bombers. The universal chorus has always ringed out that terrorism cannot be allowed to dictate policy for it engenders more terrorism. In the case of Israel and the suffering it has incurred at the hands of such tactics, others are turning a blind eye.

The traditional phrase uttered at the conclusion of a Passover Seder is, “Next year in Jerusalem.” As Israel continues to make concessions and the Palestinians continue to ally itself with the Hamas terrorist group and fire rockets into Israel, that aspiration may no longer be possible.

Books, R.I.P.

For whom does the bell toll? Today, it was Borders. The book seller behemoth fell to the online acumen of its major competitor, Barnes and Noble. Now, over 400 stores will be shut and some 11,000 people will lose their jobs, according to a recent article in The Baltimore Sun. From a brick-and-mortar stand point, Barnes and Noble must also read the writing on the wall. The sad part is, the industry is doing it to themselves.

This past year, I had a student who bought himself one of those electronic readers. He tried to sell me on the idea of buying one. It should be known that I’m a committed bibliophile. I love the feel and the texture of a book. I love the smell and the sensation of turning pages. It is such a tactile and intellectual experience. It was fostered as a small child when my parents displayed the joys of reading. Being a bit of a loner as a kid, I loved and depended upon books. Now, I see my students, those who like to read, curling up to an e-reader? It is a sad and typical sign of today’s generation.

So, my student looks at me and says he can hold thousands of books on this thing. First of all, no one reads thousands of books at one time so what is the point of that feature? At most, you might be one of those people who can read two books at the same time. What energy does it take to carry two books? I can see if they were encyclopedias but other than that, this feature of the e-reader does not hold water. The commercials say you can even read the e-reader in bright sun light. You know what else you can read in bright sunlight…books. Some books on the e-reader, particularly older or classic ones, are free. Such things exist in the real world as well. They are called libraries. Would all of you e-readers be sad if you could not annotate your own personal copy of Plato’s Republic upon checking them out from the library? There are only about five people in the entire country who have any business writing suggestions on the margins of their copy of Plato’s most famous work. My student is not one of them, neither am I and no offense, I believe that might go for anyone else reading this blog. It also has a feature that can allow you to identify the definition of a word. You know what else does that? A dictionary.

The more I see the commercials and talk to those who have it, the less benefit I see with the e-reader. However, when I walk into Barnes and Noble, there is a grand display to entice the modern reader to abandon the printed word. A bookstore promoting an e-reader seems, ultimately, counter-intuitive and self-destructive. It is quite likely bookstores will die out and I realize that I might come across as an old guy wishing for simpler days, but why must they provide the instrument of their own death?

A Post-Postman World

Ever heard of Neil Postman? If not, your cultural education is not complete. For that matter, reading Postman might not complete it but you’ll be closer. One of his most powerful books was entitled, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Most of the essays found within deal with the detrimental impact of television but the same arguments could be applied to computers and the modern craze for all things technological.

It is easy to write off such musings and subjects as the product of a master’s study reading list and true, I first came across Postman while in graduate school. However, reading his thoughts on the impact of technology on our society has forced me to reconsider everything I do in the classroom and in my daily life. Much of the “progress” in the educational field is equated with the level of technology in the classroom. However, I’m not sure what I’m doing with my students (or more to the point, “to my students”) by allowing them access to computers and other media within the arena of knowledge is helping or furthering my goals for the students.

If I tell a kid to research something, the computer trains them to type in a generic question, press enter, click on a link, read a quick sentence with the keyword within and voila – the student has been educated. That is – educated by modern definitions. I would say the kid knows only the surface information and today’s culture suggest that is all that is necessary. Today, I heard a mathematician on NPR talk about the lack of need for students to have a strong command of handwritten mathematical abilities because computers and its programs are capable of doing the same. What kind of position is that for an educator to take? Hell, not even an educator – what kind of position is that for a learned individual to take? A most recent study by Columbia University suggested that students who rely on the internet to gather information remember less because, in their minds, they can always go back to the internet and refresh. There is no reason to learn.

I’ve had the experience – as I’m sure you have as well – of a teller with a “down” computer and unable to calculate correct change. I have to do that for them. If a student in my class learns that the ramifications of the Spanish-American War for the U.S. was, in part, that it acquired Puerto Rico and Guam as territories, what does the student really know? They know the equivalent of the mathematical skills to input numbers into a computer program. What do they really know about the meaning of having Puerto Rico or Guam as a territory? What do they know about the implications for the inhabitants of those islands in the wake of America’s governance? What do they know about how possession of these islands changed U.S. foreign policy? My suggestion is, not much.

What creates this short-cut minded approach to knowledge? It is the medium by which we seek knowledge. The book, today, remains the single most important and effective way to gather and gain information and knowledge. However, our generation has not the patience for such time-consuming activities. The students scream for a website that breaks it down for them or the abbreviated notes on the same. Meanwhile, I’m screaming for a child with the intellectual stamina to endure a book. The numbers capable of taking up that banner are dwindling at an alarming rate.

Introduction and Guidelines

My name is Ross and this is my blog. I'm torn by the very notion of this forum. One, someone creating a blog is doing so under the assumption that others might care what they think. I'm under no illusions that people are clamoring to hear my thoughts on anything. Two, I do not feel that, through technology, this is the best way to discuss matters of importance. Not all of the blog entries will be "of importance" but when I choose to do so, direct, face-to-face communication is the best form of dialogue. I would like this blog to foster just that kind of dialogue. I want to know that somewhere, people are sitting down, away from the trappings of modern-life and are discussing, analyzing, speculating or simply musing on the important and not so important events, people and ideas of the today.

The blog entries will cover a litany of things, based on what is interesting to me. It will be updated with a new blog every Friday. There is no agenda, occasionally a bias and a fervent hope that people continue the conversation in the real world. The blog will be written with a measure of respect. Therefore, all responses to blogs (should there be any) should carry the same level of respect. Any reference to a person in the public eye should be as Mr. or Ms. and a public official should always be referred to by their title and last name. The president of the United States will never be referred to as simply "Obama." He is "President Obama" or "the president." All former officials will also be known by their former title, such as "President Bush" or "former Senator Bob Kerrey

If there is to be a conversation on matters of importance, it needs to be done with respect. An argument is not against a person but rather an idea. The objections held by the readers should be expressed with that in mind. I find irritating the level of informality, disrespect and rancor in our public discourse and if we are to ever achieve more, it must begin somewhere. I shall begin here. If you object to the guidelines of this blog, go in peace. You are not welcomed here but there are plenty of other places who will allow you to indulge in your preferred form of communication.