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Apparently, I have a “superpower.”
I’ve had it for years but I just took it for granted. I didn’t realize the might and force I carried for so long. I realize now that I have used this power for my own selfish needs.
But now ... I am thinking about using my power to go back in time – to that time when our country was fighting a Revolutionary War. To go back in time to protect our American heritage.
It’s exciting to realize that I have this power despite my age. In fact, I have this ability because I’ve been around a long time and because my early schooling dates back to the 1950s.
It’s the schooling part that counts. It’s how I got my “superpower.” Now I suppose I should explain that I’m probably exaggerating my strength a bit. But hey, I pulled that word “superpower” right out of the headlines.
This headline: “National Archives is seeking volunteers who have the ‘Superpower’ of reading cursive – which only 24 states still teach.”
This recent People magazine article online was sent to me by two happy and proud grandparents of a teenager. After reading the article they said they “... don’t know whether to laugh or swear.”
This cursive issue hits home for them every time they send a birthday card to their grandson who just turned 17.
“We have to PRINT our wishes inside the card because he cannot read cursive,” they said.
I have to assume this obstacle faces many families but the article by Danielle Jennings notes it’s a serious problem for institutions that deal with this country’s history.
“Reading cursive can now be added to the list of most-wanted skills – at least according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,” reports Jennings.
“The federal organization tasked with archiving the country’s most precious records and documents is currently looking for volunteers who can read the cursive writing of over 200 years' worth of documents,” the article notes, quoting a USA Today article.
Apparently, many documents that need transcribing are from the Revolutionary War when writing in cursive was the standard.
USA Today quoted Suzanne Isaacs, community manager with the National Archives Catalog, who said, “Reading cursive is a superpower.”
And I – and probably you – have this power. If you can navigate a computer you can help from home.
“We create missions where we ask volunteers to help us transcribe or tag records in our catalog,” Isaacs said. To get involved register for a free online account with the National Archives where you can read documents ready to be cataloged.
The article reported that 24 states (including in Illinois) require teaching cursive, according to an Education Week article a few months ago that noted less than 10 years ago only 14 states required cursive lessons.
Education Week said the debate was reignited in October last year when Washington College in Maryland became the butt of a late-night TV joke when the college dropped its logo – George Washington’s cursive signature.
The college reported it was “difficult to read and not immediately recognizable for many prospective students.”
Now I come back to my friends' nagging question. Should I laugh at all this or start fuming? Well, I think the obvious answer is yes ... to both.
Meanwhile, I’m feeling the surging power of that mental muscle I’ve had for so many years. I think I will be dipping into those National Archive documents.
I’ll use my superpower to travel back to the Revolutionary War.
• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His PaperWork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail The Times, 110 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, IL 61350.