Can’t Read, Can’t Write, What Can You Do? *

Apparently, learning to write cursive–which is on the wane–has cognitive benefits:

The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive opportunity missed. The

neurological process that directs thought, through fingers, into

written symbols is a highly sophisticated one. Several academic studies

have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help

children express their thoughts better — a lifelong benefit.

Educators argue that there’s not time to teach kids cursive writing. Even the Instapundit himself argues "Is it a loss that people don’t have beautiful cursive? In the abstract,
maybe, but kids have lots of more important stuff to learn."

My question: OK, so what useful skills ARE you teaching them in that extra 15 minutes a day, ’cause it sure as hell ain’t readin’, writin’, or ‘rithmetic. Not when I have to teach that stuff to college undergraduates.  And their homeworks pretty much have to be typed, since their handwriting is crap.

Tip from the Instapundit.

* with (scant) apologies to Adam Ant, whose song "Goody Two Shoes" inspired this title ("
Don’t drink, don’t smoke
What do you do?")