I'm feeling good about myself. No, really. Somehow I find that I possess this weird little skill set that, up until now, has endeared me to many but garnered me nothing in the way of "scratch".
I can communicate with words in a clear and concise fashion. And, like the cave painters of old, I fear the art of communication will soon be something of a novelty, something we excavate to explore. It seems so many among us just never embraced what I think is a natural ability that any could finesse to their needs.
I see it in school kids who have this block about writing. I see it in the absurdity that passes for grammar on the crawls at the bottom of the TV screen. And I find it in electronic messages, where nuance is left to the mood of the receiver.
I do not possess some bizarre ability that is beyond comprehension, I'm just a decently good writer. I can do things with words, but so can we all. My concern is that we do not value communication in education nor in the workplace as we should. This is a basic necessity and we should view it as such. I don't like that many schools have abandoned cursive writing instruction, seeing it as archaic and quaint. Cursive writing is expression, and it allows the physical to mesh with the mental in order to form one's feelings and thoughts into a piece of visual art. Let's not lose that. Sure, I'm blogging this to you, but I still write letters and I always will.
So I pulled out my gift this morning and gave it to a volunteer organization that really needed it and for that I feel good. I have something to offer and it was of great value to a lot of people today. My wish is that we would all, no matter our education or preconceived ideas, put this varying ability on display more often.
When I was a kid, I thought writers were "those people" and not me. I don't think I entirely demystified writing for myself until Keri and I talked it through decades later. I'd like to see that hole covered up so that it won't swallow more dreamers. We need all of those we can get.
Hey, so even Marilyn vos Savant took up the question of whether or not to teach cursive writing in her Sunday column. Sadly, she would not commit to either view, just walked her comments right down the vast and empty middle.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if we weren't so focused on standardized tests, we could still see the value in the "living arts". Let's teach people to have common sense and to be able to adapt in any situation.
Besides, I lose a lot when I only know you as a font!