And, I mean, a Democratic President could in fact do a lot to help the people of Illinois, probably more right now than a governor could do.
Newsom is now doing a full flip-flop on his Israel comments, because he stands for nothing and has no fixed beliefs other than “Gavin Newsom should be president”.
I’ve thought Newsom sucks for years, but I did think he was very sharp. I’m reconsidering that view.
Newsom said nothing of the sort, the word “Zionist” never passes his lips. He supports Israel but not Netanyahu- just like many do. No flip flop.
I am very glad to see Newsom clarify his earlier statements on Israel. None of the voters who have a problem with “I support Israel but not Bibi Netanyahu” are voters who would have voted for him anyways.
Shapiro is getting a bit of mockery for his educational priorities.
Meanwhile, everyone under 40 is asking “What’s a check?”
I wouldn’t reject him as a candidate because of this, but it’s quite stupid (and deserving of mockery)
It was a bipartisan bill?
The sides in this country are crazily far apart, and this is the one thing they manage to put aside their differences long enough to agree on, with Shapiro’s blessing? Pulling students away from valuable work, by mandating this? That’s the priority?
Shrug, “bipartisan bill” has degraded to such a point that even getting a single vote from the other side of the aisle qualifies.
I agree that teaching cursive is as useful as teaching kids how to use a slide rule. Heck, I would say the cursive teaching I got in the 1980s was a waste of time, as I have only ever used it for signing my name. I haven’t seen the bill but I strongly suspect it did a lot more than just mandate teaching cursive handwriting.
I do agree that this is a nothingbuger.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Now you have me curious. Are you a teacher, or did you have to learn the slide rule?
I’m guessing that the cursive aspect was not some minor aspect of the bill that he didn’t think mattered. His posts about supporting cursive would imply that he thought it is important skill to learn. Most people will disagree with him on that. I suspect his posts will be used against him to show how out of touch he is with students and their current educational needs. Next he’ll be supporting a bill to require students learn how to use a rotary phone in case they’re at their grandparents house and need to make a call.
I’m a teacher, and I do teach my students to use a slide rule. Though I only spend one period on it in the semester. I don’t teach it because it’s a practical tool; I teach it because it’s a good illustration of the properties of logarithms, and also of the concept of limited precision.
Well then, let me take my foot out of my mouth and thank you for your service. Laugh.
Actually, I would support what you are doing. ie it is useful for kids to be aware of the concept but not to spend meaningful time on cursive or the slide rule.
Thanks to the miracle of the internet, we don’t wonder, we know:
Next thing you know, they’ll be forcing kids to learn how to read an analog clock!
I would totally support one period in one semester to teach kids to sign their own names in cursive. Other than that, they can take cursive as an elective if they plan to read a bunch of old historical documents.
My understanding of cursive (having hated it and having atrocious handwriting) is that we really teach the wrong method using the wrong tools and that nothing was ever really designed for the invention of the ballpoint pen.
Learning cursive per se (as opposed to printed handwriting) is not that important. Being able to use a pen and paper instead of an electronic screen is extremely important, and Shapiro has stated that the cursive initiative is simply part of that goal.
From the other side of the pond, I get the impression that what you call “cursive” is close to the old-fashioned copperplate my father was taught in the 1920s but which died out in our schools by the 30s/40s, in favour of a simpler round hand* for “joined up writing”, which AFAIK is still the norm.
I agree there are other benefits to learning how to write clearly, confidently and fluently. All caps or just unjoined print gets wearing to read, as well as laborious to do - but so do all those curlicues.
*I know I should hate to say it, but Comic Sans has a part to play here.