Story Time

What seems like a long time ago, I was in third grade. I remember reflecting upon the aim of my schooling often, as true philosophers do regardless of age. In this particular occasion the class was learning how to write in cursive. Naturally I saw no purpose to this topic and questioned why we had to learn how to write in this different style, when we had already learned to write in the first place. “Because when you get to high school and college, this is how they write, and you will need to write this way if you’d like to pass your classes.” And at the time, that was fair enough. As I understood it, higher society wrote this way, and I needed to conform to this to succeed. Cursive was a revered art, and I needed to revere it as well if I was to be accepted and revered one day as well.

Once can assume how the cards played after that.

As I grew up, cursive became less and less important as computers arose as the preferred method of writing. Teachers paid no mind to it. It didn’t matter how you wrote, so long as your notes were readable and your papers were typed. And as I grew up, the concept devolved from exalted to preferred to obsolete. By the time I got to high school it was a different language, and I barely had a reading knowledge of it.

Eventually the time came for my to take my SAT test. I sailed through math, through reading, through writing, and finally came to the section that required our written oath that we had not cheated or taken extra time on any section of the test. I read through the instructions and my heart sank… “You must write this oath in cursive,” it stated, and it took all of my power to internalize the small heart attack that occurred. I knew nothing. My face turned red as I aimlessly looped and squiggled my words, lamenting how inevitably stupid I had made myself look after all that hard work in the other sections, lamenting the years and years spent forgetting the art form, only to have nothing when I needed it most.

So if we wish to revere something in society and hold it high, we must consider above all things our commitment. It is unjust to exalt a concept that has not had its time for reflection. It is also unjust to de-exalt a concept (even if properly de-exalted, for there was truly no reason to teach cursive anymore,) but still expect the young to exalt it as you had learned to. We are required to hold our concepts in a regard par to the regard we require of our students. When we expect reverence we have not properly fostered in the minds of students, we judge them unjustly. Though I tell my story in jest, I must point out that I had lost points due to my loops and scribbles, and to this very day I hold that I had been treated unfairly and unjustly by my educators. Such an unfair expectation on their part has caused me to lose faith in the system, but also inspires me to be the change.