Unbelievable! I still write in cursive (I thought everyone knew it) now I know why my children are fascinated by it…crazy how something can disappear so easily.
Are you telling me we're burning down every last inch of the Amazon to power the servers that AI needs to generate images of people with 6 fingers on their hands but we can't figure out how to read cursive? I fucking HATE this timeline.
Nothing in the heritage sector is manageable without firms of free labor because it doesn't make enough money to outcompete industrial interests. There are more and less ethical ways to accomplish the tasks of preservation. They're pandering to older people who often love this topic and task.
Won't argue w/this, but because the FACTS of history are critical knowledge, the system we live in will try to supress what doesn't fit oligarchs' needs. I'm arguing that preserving history is radical aggression against that system that is drowning us. If we have to forgo $$ then that's the price.
I love doing this & I know the struggle with funding all history centers & archives have, so I'm OK with doing a little volunteering. It's not as if someone is making money from this. They're just not. Also, I'm a total dork for old documents. It's a great way to fully understand real history.
Wow, saddened to read that so many would be unwilling to volunteer to transcribe our nation's shared history. Orange buffoon office or not, we should want to have our history to be preserved for future generations. To be remunerated would be nice, but saving historical documents is rewarding.
I've done a couple of the transcription records. The ones I have done were about Revolutionary War soldiers applying for a government program. I enjoy reading these records and it is relaxing. You can do such or as little as you like.
I can believe it. The lost art. Next to fall off a cliff is the ability to do math without a calculator. Or read handwritten numbers. Or pee in the toilet bowl and not on the floor.
I wish they’d HIRE folks to do this. So many people old enough to know how to do this are badly struggling with fixed incomes below the poverty level. If these folks admit it’s a necessary skill, I wish they’d pay for it.
Yes but this one is run by the U.S. government so one would think they could spare a few bucks for this instead of giving the money to Elon so he can blow up rockets.
I believe it. This nation is becoming just like this movie. Thanks to that “4x Liable for Defamation, Civil Fraud, Convicted Felon & Adjudicated Rapist, Donald Trump" and his band of IDIOTS.
I've done this and it's fun! You learn a lot and get to exercise your brain. Helping add to historical archives as a volunteer isn't much different than playing Quordle/Wordle for free. You can spend 5 minutes or as long as you'd like. I'm also into genealogy and history so this is enjoyable to me.
Except that the documents they're talking about are more than just cursive. They include the letter 's' written as an 'f' and other Era or region specific spellings.
. . . This is literally what historians, archivists, and their interns are paid to do. Like, I get not wanting to pay employees or contractors. But this is low-key sad to see.
I’m sure lots of us would be delighted to put our skills to work as a side hustle! It’s not like we’re well compensated, though that’s part of why they think they can get it for free.
Everyone getting mad about the "volunteer" side: the archives don't have any money, 99% of their staff are volunteers simply cuz the government doesn't give a fuck about it.
U don't want to do it? Fine. But F off w the "pay me" this isn't a mega corporation, this is a library
This isn’t difficult to read, especially for those of us who are mature. But there is a very “artistic” style that’s difficult & looks like it’d take forever to write.
No, it was a personal project. The book was of enslaved children and the people who enslaved them. One of my ancestors was listed in the book, sad to say.
I took a grad course at Loyola that involved reading primary documents at the Maryland Historical Society and I was just about cross eyed after a few sessions. 😵💫
Yes! And I was right -- it was her. Francis Hoen also owed land here. So did someone named Mrs. Minnie W. Von Roadewald, though I can't find anything about her at all. Mary Jacobs owned a ton of land here- and someone named Rodewald (I'm thinking maybe Minnie's husband?) built thousands of homes.
It's been incredible. But the transcribing was really difficult. Once that part was done, I've been able to focus on the research, which is more my thing.
I circulated this article a few days ago to friends who are old nurses like me. Those of us who used to decipher written medical records are experts in reading not only cursive but “chicken scratches”.
I still remember getting a rabies certificate for my cat at the vet signed by the vet by printing her name like a child. We transferred our records to another vet. They replied "they don't teach kids cursive anymore!" and I replied "they don't teach vet medicine in grade school either."
I remember the first time a new department head sent hand-"written" notes to us, all printed like a child did it. 😒😬 Hard to describe how unimpressed with him that made me.
As long as it’s not transcribing a doctor’s cursive. Worked at a pharmacy in college. Then again, do doctors even hand write scripts or are they transmitted electronically? I’m so out of touch.
all I've seen for me & my family are electronically right to the pharmacy. i haven't seen a paper rx pad or been given a paper script, in years. never thought abt that until you mentioned it.
I was flabbergasted when I found out a couple years ago that a lot of kids under 30 can’t read or write cursive. When we learned it in 3rd grade, it made us feel closer to the adult world cuz that’s how our parents wrote (generally). This seems like a cool project for some of my retirement time.
I remember seeing a young person testifying in a televised trial being shown a document on the witness stand and saying she couldn't read it because it was in cursive.
I thought she was covering for not being able to read at all, but then someone told me it isn't taught in most schools any more.
Does anybody think with the proposed elimination of the B.O.E. that script will be mandated by individual states? It's the closest thing we have to cursive in modern day.
One of my students asked me if I could read cursive…she’s learning it because she thinks it’s so pretty. And yes, I can. I wish I’d taught my own sons. I had to read cards to them from my parents. :/
I didn’t realise ‘not reading cursive’ was a thing?? I’m English so perhaps it’s just an American thing? I’ve had cards from young nephews and nieces written in cursive so am I missing something?
Does this mean students aren’t being taught to hand write at all, or just in cursive?
When I was in school (mid-90s), we learned print first, then cursive. The method varies between regions (first school, we had pretty blocky print, then I moved and the print was required to be in this curly style meant to prep us for cursive). I think more recently they've just phased out cursive.
But even a lot of my friends that learned in school haven't maintained the skill. I default to a bit of a mashup of the two, but am comfortable in either. But then, I'm also a calligrapher, so that makes a difference, I think.
Wow, I find it quite sad that 'handwriting' is now a 'rare skill'. I had no idea. I'm amazed that people can't even read it though, it's not like it's using a different alphabet like Russian, it's just the same words but written by hand. I guess 'reading and writing' are going to be lost arts soon.
I (Gen X) had to use only cursive for the first five years of school until we were allowed to use Nelson - which was quite a lot quicker but still neat
I don't think we were ever required to use it past maybe elementary school (age 10ish). I think the teachers were just happy when they got something they could read.
They don’t really teach it anymore. My kids got a very short intro to it and it was never pushed again after that. They don’t know how to properly sign their names it’s terrible 😔
This makes sense as to why they can’t write, but I still don’t get how they can’t read it? It’s the same alphabet just in a different ‘font’ (handwritten). I don’t mean bad doctor’s handwriting, just regular cursive.
I agree I don’t understand it myself I think some of the letters don’t look the same to them. I feel like I am translating an ancient document to them. But truthfully at the very minimum they need to know how to sign their name.😊
I've read that this is really a problem, especially as it relates to voting. Signatures will never match up to the electronic signatures that are generated.
It's extraordinary. The next generation can't read, can't write, can't sign their names, can't think critically and can't cope with anything in life in the event of a power cut (no phones!).
I really hope I'm exaggerating but I fear I'm not. Maybe the future is even bleaker than I thought. 😳
This totally grabbed me. I’m not yet retired but will be midsummer. I don’t care that it’s a volunteer job—we should all volunteer some of our hours and this is one of the few things I’d be good at. Thanks for posting this.
Anyone in favor of teaching our children how to read cursive please contact your school boards. Not being able to read and write your own language is absolutely ridiculous to me.
My mom and I are our family’s historians. As an Elder Millennial, I learned cursive in school, but initially struggled reading older records, while my mom (a Boomer) has no problem with them since her generation used cursive all the time. I’ve relearned how to read it, which was a bit humbling, lol.
I’m in shock. 😮 Seriously, when did they stop teaching kids to write and read handwritten cursive script?! That is just ludicrous! We live in an age of iron and rust I tell you. 🤦🏾♂️
Reading 18C cursive is much harder. Interesting, if you enjoy history, but there's all sorts of shorthands that we simply don't use now, and it can be region specific. Germany's version of cursive did my head in -- m and w were identical. Officially you put a line to differentiate, in practice🤷
This would be a great use of time for my parents. It would be helpful if there was some kind of pay attached for older Americans living on fixed incomes.
Having read some early 19th c cursive texts with the help of AI, AI can read simple words like names, and it makes assumptions on words it can't read, but you still have to read it to be sure what it says, but yes, AI shows you the spot where to read.
Just transcribed my first one, and it was a typewritten WWII communication. I started from the OCR extraction and it was pretty bad.
Side note: It was like reading part of a novel. Not all records are like that for sure, but submarine communications are a nice teaser to get people started. ;)
Every thing every where all at once in 3 freaking dimensional Wicca wizard ing hot tub Time Machine and good ole common sense brings us to this point WTF
I taught Jr-Sr High School. After teaching 7th grade, I became an expert at deciphering “cursive” writing.
Unfortunately, once GWB decided that No Child (should be) Left Behind 🙄, elementary schools had to phase out penmanship to devote more time to teach to a useless test.
So here we are.
So here we are, huh folks? Our populace is being dumbed down to the point where cursive isn't taught to a literate degree in early development Junior High at the latest.
Damn yo... we need to have a real serious convo up in this piece, because this is devastating our children and our future.
Considering I was taught cursive and have neither used it once since leaving the third grade, nor could I tell you the last time I found myself needing to read cursive, I'd say all the time spent on it was a waste.
And I could say you're an out of touch nitwit whining about pointless anachronistic bullshit while there's a million and one more important subjects and skills neglected by the educational system, but since we're not insulting one another I guess I won't.
It has been generally absent from school curriculums for some 30+ years. It was replaced by "keyboarding" to facilitate computer literacy. I've heard rumors recently that some schools may actually be bringing it back.
True, that. A lot of parents didn't necessarily want it, either. Old-school, low value. With or without the Right's "greatness," we're likely to see continual loss of other skills once taken for granted. When the last knowledge keeper in a skill dies, the skill is lost to time.
It is hard, but satisfying work. I did some during COVID. Wish they'd let you stick with one writer! Just as I had deciphered someone's hand, I'd finish the doc, and then be moved to another FROM SOMEONE DIFFERENT. Argh!
Reading cursive is a rare skill? Jeez I'm getting old. This would be a fun hobby when I retire. Do they have anything written in shorthand? I can decipher that as well. How about carbon copies? Old Underwood typewriters?
There should be non-monetary value in volunteerism. Jimmy Carter was a prime example of selfless acts & he enjoyed contentment in his purpose-filled life. If it's not for you, too bad; so sad. But responding to opportunities to volunteer with demands to be paid?? Why so selfish?
There’s a long tradition of public and non profit archiving and record keeping organisations relying on volunteer help to transcribe or decipher documents.
You aren’t taking a paid job from anyone - there’s a pretty small market for these skills and few such bodies have the budget to pay.
If these were for-profit groups they should absolutely pay. Conversely, if non profits had to pay everyone, they would probably need to charge for access too - or charge much more than now.
Don't see why not: it's archives, not classified documents. I've looked into it: easy to sign up, many collections to choose from, go at your own pace. Looks like much of it is correspondence, but if you like reading and history, what's not to love?
Approx only 13 states now teach cursive. Teachers now cope with poor grammar, the inability of students to complete full sentences but they know a good TicTok video or the secret language of emojis when they see one! Is there something out there that hasn’t been trashed in our education system yet?
Comments
Dumbest. Timeline.
1. Fascists kill access to history real fast; they're already doing it.
2. Service to community is radically progressive.
3. Thinking that all service must come with cash is how your corporate overlords have programmed you.
The flip side is people getting hella mad their tax dollars are being used to pay someone to read cursive instead of bail out a bank.
Preserving history is essential. Nobody wants to pay for it, though.
(It’s why dating really blows these days.)
I do wish they'd pay at least a small staff who need the money, but even if they started they soon won't have the money anyway.
I'm happy to volunteer.
Oh, it's not paid work...never mind; slavery seems to be thematic here.
You could do it from McMurdo Station!
And AI isn’t ready for the task.
So much personality shows in one's writing skill.
Volunteer!?!?
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxL__4c3_zOWzfE9X_6Ky005Rlqq5EiqQ2?si=2Qei8d9bh9r5JPGZ
I am BUILT+++ for this....which means I need to get paid at that rate.
U don't want to do it? Fine. But F off w the "pay me" this isn't a mega corporation, this is a library
I'm gonna need it lol
It’s not in a ‘foreign’ language?
I thought she was covering for not being able to read at all, but then someone told me it isn't taught in most schools any more.
1. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/03/1140610714/what-students-lost-since-cursive-writing-was-cut-from-the-common-core-standards
2. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/apr/19/facebook-posts/no-schools-didnt-stop-teaching-cursive-writing-kee/
-ONE.🖌
Does this mean students aren’t being taught to hand write at all, or just in cursive?
I really hope I'm exaggerating but I fear I'm not. Maybe the future is even bleaker than I thought. 😳
Or civics and government or actual history (only the whitewashed MAGA version of it which is wildly inaccurate).
They don't even know how their own government works or what it does (or, used to do before Trump). Or why they should vote.
Add it to the list:
Things that make you feel old.
I wonder what the youngest age bracket that can read it is. ...truly curious.
It gets confused and starts to hallucinate.
Side note: It was like reading part of a novel. Not all records are like that for sure, but submarine communications are a nice teaser to get people started. ;)
Old German is terrible.
There.
Unfortunately, once GWB decided that No Child (should be) Left Behind 🙄, elementary schools had to phase out penmanship to devote more time to teach to a useless test.
So here we are.
So here we are, huh folks? Our populace is being dumbed down to the point where cursive isn't taught to a literate degree in early development Junior High at the latest.
Damn yo... we need to have a real serious convo up in this piece, because this is devastating our children and our future.
I'm not going to sit here hurling derogatory insults at you without knowing if you're being honest, or who fucking knows man.
Though I can tell you this, no one cares about your utilization of a skill that most are lacking in.
I would say you're a mental muon but as I stated, no insulting.
That's kind of you fuck knuckles.
Advancement is not always progress.
They’re the ones who decide how much money government agencies receive.
Who knew cursive would be a superpower.
Not on my personal bingo card.
Wish this app was in cursive.
And this was exactly the problem people were worried about then
Why not pay people to do it?
You aren’t taking a paid job from anyone - there’s a pretty small market for these skills and few such bodies have the budget to pay.
That’s so bizarre, I can hardly stand it. I feel so old these days (… tho I’m only 69).
I hate many of the habit & visual changes in our modern world. Too much grace & beauty is being cheapened or lost.
She’s now able to conduct genealogical research looking at records in cursive unlike many of her peers.