Why Do We Still Teach Students to Write Long Handed?

I know it’s hard to believe, but there actually was a time before “Word Processing” software. At that time, we had these ancient relics called “Secretaries” and “Typing Pools.” As a consultant working for one of the largest CPA firms in the world, I had to write (long-hand) a lot of reports and give them to secretaries and typing pools to be typed. Because I wrote so much for years, I actually had a large callous on my finger from holding the pencil or pen. Now, all these years later, I struggle just to sign my own name long handed!

My point is that even someone like me, who wrote everything long hand, now never writes anything this way (except for maybe a few notes in this class.) When I do “write” the few things that I do today, I normally print the words because my penmanship is so horrible. At this point, I just don’t seem to have any need to write anything long handed. So I’ve been asking myself why even bother teaching it to students in the first place?

My 4th grader brings all of these papers home showing the endless amounts of time she has spent in school practicing the proper style of writing each letter of the alphabet. Even though I tell her how nice it all looks, I can’t help myself but think what a waste of time it is teaching this subject in school, especially when there are so many other things that really need more focus (back to math and science again, also reading, english and technology.) To me, it almost seems like it’s just another “art” class. Something nice, maybe even fun, but with how little students will actually be using this skill, I just think their time would be better spent doing other things.

You would think an old timer like me would argue for the importance of learning to write long hand. Of course, I think it’s critical for students to be able to “print” words by hand, it’s just going to the next step of learning how to hand write them (penmanship) that I think is a waste. At a time when education is so critical to a student’s success in this world, I believe as much time as possible should be spent on subjects that will help them compete and succeed in the world, and that writing long hand (penmanship) is not one of these subjects. In fact, I think it should be eliminated from every school’s curriculum immediately. I also wonder if I’m on an island by myself on this issue since I’ve never even heard of anyone ever mentioning such a “radical” idea. Am I out on this ledge by myself?

Are More Students Talking Less?

Maybe it’s my imagination, or maybe it’s my small “sample size”, but I swear there seems to be more students coming out of high schools who are really reluctant to talk in class. I’ve been teaching at Lock Haven for 13 years, and as a general rule, I haven’t needed to “call-on” students in certain classes to force them to participate. However, I’m actually at a point now where I’m starting to think I need to change my informal “policy.”

Of course, there are lots of times, depending on the class, where I “force” students to make presentations, discuss ideas, and talk about their experiences. During these times, many of these “quiet” students communicate quite effectively.

I also have some classes where I give a participation grade every day (and it’s a significant part of their grade.) It’s very common for a percentage of the students to take a zero on days where I don’t “force” them to participate. It seems like the students are moving into one of two “camps”—those that won’t shut up, and those that won’t say anything. I do wonder if technology is contributing to this?

One reason I say this, is that sometimes those students who won’t say anything in class turn from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde when they email me. I don’t even know it’s the same person; they seem so much more forceful and opinionated. Also, in my 9th grader’s case, she is constantly texting but rarely talking on the phone. I understand from my wife that my daughter is nowhere near as “talky” at school or even with her friends as she is at home. I’m beginning to wonder if technology is making it easier for students to “hide” behind, and also not giving them as much practice at face-to-face types of communications. Does anyone else see this? Also, for those of you who have been in high school more recently, what are teachers doing to help or hurt this problem?

Are We Pushing Our Kids Hard Enough?

In China last year there were 8 children trampled to death by their fellow students in a rush to leave their late night study sessions at 9:15 p.m. Also last year, you may recall President Obama’s comments after visiting South Korea and talking with officials about what they believe is the biggest problem in South Korea’s education system—“The parents are too tough on their children.”

At the same time, I hear every “expert” say that the only way Americans will retain their global economic superiority is through the continued education of our population. I mentioned before that I have a 9th grader and a 4th grader. Both seem fairly bright, both are pretty much straight “A” students, but they (and their peers) do not seem to be working very hard to attain such “lofty” results. They certainly aren’t in study sessions every night until 9:15 pm!

Is our education system “better”, I hope. Although you also hear of our continued weakness in math and science as compared to many other countries. I just wonder if we are pushing our kids (and ourselves) hard enough to stay ahead? What do you think?

Help Me Understand Why Accounting is Taught in High School.

I often teach introductory Accounting at the college level. So many times at the beginning of the semester, students will inform me that they’ve taken Accounting in high school and “did really well in it.” For the most part, these students do no better than anyone else, and often times are actually more confused because they are remembering bits and pieces from their prior course(s) and trying to apply them incorrectly in my course.
There is an occasional exception, but from what I can gather (even though I did not take Accounting in high school) it seems what high school students are “learning” about Accounting is some rote exercise of where to put certain transactions in certain places on certain forms (or software.) They seem to have little understanding of why they are doing this, and also no real understanding of what the numbers are telling them about the company’s performance. So can someone please tell me why Accounting is being taught in high school, because I cannot figure it out myself?

On the April 19, 2010 cover of TIME magazine the question was asked:

SHOULD SCHOOLS BRIBE KIDS?

As an employee and often times a boss at various positions over the past 30 years, I do not believe money motivates employees. If I or an employee “hates” his/her job, an extra $1 or even $10 per hour increase is in not going to make me (or him/her) suddenly love the job. Will it make the work more tolerable, sure, but probably only in the short term until a better opportunity is found.

At the same time, do I believe money can reinforce certain behaviors? Absolutely, particularly when it is tied to a specific behavior or goal, and that the behavior or goal is perceived by the person to be within his/her control.

This elaborate study was conducted at 143 schools in four major cities. The reward system for the students was different for each city to help the researchers determine which approach made the most difference. One was based on grades earned on exams, another was based final course grades, a third was a combination of various items including attendance and behavior, and the fourth was paying students each time they read a book.

Although the results of the study were controversial and mixed, in the instances where the students were paid directly for behaviors they could control (reading a book, attending school, etc.) student performance on standardized testing did seem to improve. When payment was for items outside of their direct control (earning an A on an exam or in a class) their performance on standardized tests did not improve (even if they earned the higher grades in the class.)

I have a child in 9th grade, and one in 4th grade. I believe they are getting a good public education from our local school district. Do I believe it’s the best education they could get from the district? No more than I think I’m getting the maximum output from my employees or my company. Are there problems in every organization---absolutely. Should new ideas for improvements be tried and potentially embraced, certainly. I would love to see the results of “schools bribing” my kids to learn. I think it’s a great idea. But then again, I am a business guy.