Off With the News

Last Friday night, Tanya was watching the news about the incomprehensible events at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Ella came in unannounced and asked what had happened. Trying to keep it as appropriate as possible for a 9-year-old, Tanya told her a very ill man entered a school and killed a lot of people. Ella was sad.

Sophia, Ella’s 6-year-old sister, was more concerned about her own safety. “Connecticut’s far from here, right? He’s not coming here, is he?” she asked. Tanya continually reassured Sophia that the man was dead and her school was safe.

The massacre in Newtown has weighed on my mind since it happened. After learning more, and while suppressing tears and rage, I wished I hadn’t heard about it. Now I wonder: When it comes to senseless tragedies like this one, are we better off not knowing?

I’m not naive. Negative emotions are part of life and necessary for a healthy psychology. Supporting our fellow humans is a vital component of healing. I also understand the need to be informed. Our reactions to painful and unsettling events often lead to great societal change, like abolishing slavery and curbing hate crimes, for example. The particularly unsavory nature of this case can help us address our society’s glaring lack of mental health care, and perhaps effect better gun control laws.

Still, I find this pill harder to swallow. I want my kids to experience the joys and tribulations of growing up, and that includes attending school. Getting an education should be stimulating and exciting, not fraught with fear and vigilance. It’s neither practical nor conducive to a positive academic experience to navigate metal detectors, gates and security guards to reach the classroom. It’s not beneficial to fear a place you go every day.

Newtown, Conn., after all, is not exactly famous for a high level of crime. The same goes for Littleton, Blacksburg, Montreal and Omaha, all of which are among the list of cities where similar atrocities have occurred. The fact that a list exists at all — and believe me, it’s long — is disturbing enough.

Being inundated with coverage of this and other massacres doesn’t improve my life. I grieve for the victims and their families, but knowing about this incident breeds fear and instills rage, both of which impair my ability to think clearly.

Sadly, I admit that even the possibility of this happening to Ella and Sophia was enough to make me consider moving. Unfortunately, comparable events have happened in China, France, Germany and South Africa, among other nations. Disturbed people live everywhere. Running away won’t make me safer, and the media is unavoidable.

I can, however, always choose my perspective.

My best defense against terror is to love and nurture my kids, teach them to reach out to others, and seek the positive. Tragedy will happen again, but I stand firm in my belief that 99 percent of all humans on this planet are good, and always will be.

This holiday season, I’m turning off the news.

Wee Wisdom: Let it Flow, Let it Flow, Let it Flow...

Ella practices her spelling homework by copying every word on the list in cursive.

“Isn’t it pretty?” she said last week, flaunting her work. “It’s important to know how to sign your name on checks.”

I had recently read an article about how most American schools were phasing out cursive writing instruction.

“Some people feel that learning cursive isn’t as important as it used to be,” I said.

“You better believe it’s important!” she exclaimed.

Ella’s nostalgic view of handwriting may soon make her an endangered species. Colorado is among the 45 states whose schools have adopted the Common Core State Standards, which has dropped formal cursive writing instruction from its curriculum in favor of topics it considers more relevant in today’s world. Like it or not, of the current crop of American children many may never learn the art of reading or writing in continuous, flowing script.

What does this mean?

According to the Common Core website (www.corestandards.org), it’s curriculum is designed to help children become “college and career ready” in literacy, math and sciences. It’s mission statement defends the standards as being “robust and relevant to the real world.”

The bottom line is our dependence on technology is leading us further away from the handwriting skills that have helped develop human communication for thousands of years. It’s still too early to tell if we’re committing a mistake.

Many in the education community tout the benefits of cursive writing instruction. Motor skill development, improving literacy and communication, and the ability to efficiently transfer one’s thoughts to paper make penmanship skills a vital component of intellectual growth.

The ubiquity of tablets and smartphones has magnified our need for technological mastery. Online banking and electronic signatures may eventually make signing one’s name superfluous. But my instincts tell me that texting, voice-activated word processing programs and sliding fingers on screens do more to hinder literacy than improve it. From thank-you cards to love notes to journaling, our ability to transfer thoughts to paper transcends practicality. It defines us.

Handwriting means more than simply words on a paper: It’s a testament to character, a window into a personality. Imagine if the Declaration of Independence or Anne Frank’s diary had been typed.

Mr. Sean Gorman, Ella’s school principal, acknowledges the dilemma facing educators today. He told me that his teachers are welcome to incorporate cursive handwriting into all facets of their lessons, providing they meet school curriculum standards.

Ella’s teacher, Mrs. Elaine Rankin, does the best with the time she has. She writes the “word of the day” in cursive every morning on the board, has her students write their spelling words and sign their names in cursive. At the very least, she wants her students to be able to read it.

But for Mrs. Rankin and many others, the challenge is daunting.

“If I could guarantee all my students got support at home, my job would be a lot easier,” she says.

If Ella starts a petition to keep teaching cursive in schools, I’ll sign it.

By hand.