Cursive time.

I was on a Facebook thread recently questioning why kids should be *required* to learn cursive these days. I was casting around for an analogy to illustrate both the fact that cursive *could* have utility and acknowledging that in the third decade of the 21st century, it is an anachronism. 

 

One example is reading a clock face. Most kids these days don't even own a watch--they use their cell phones to tell time. Most clocks today are digital--for example, the ones in our microwave oven and our radiant heat oven. But I wear a clock face watch. I learned expressions like "quarter after" and "quarter till" that reflect having learned how to read a clock face, what some have called “cursive time.” I wouldn't advocate forcing all kids to learn how to read a clock face, although I can testify to its utility.

 

Another example that came to my mind was driving a manual transmission car. When I was growing up, my parents only had stick shifts, so I learned on that. I took drivers ed in high school for the insurance discount, and those were all automatics. While my Honda Fit is a stick shift, they are getting hard to find these days. Should all kids be taught how to drive a manual transmission car? No. Would it be a useful skill? Sure. If you want to steal my car, you’ll have to learn how to drive a stick shift.