Why tie yourself to the current state of technology (keyboard, pc, printer), which may be defunct in 8-15 years?
Let the kids learn to use computers but limit it specifically to that. In the classroom emphasis should be on teaching the subject (and let them use pencil, pen and paper).
And I'm appalled that public schools now teach computer skills but have abandoned cursive writing.
Why should schools spend time on cursive? Does it add value for the students? The last time I used cursive for something other than a signature was in elementary school.
Yes, typing is usually faster than cursive. However, most keyboards are not ergonomic and years of use at high speeds will most likely lead to RSI or at least sore wrists. And there are still be plenty of times in life where writing something by hand is more appropriate than typing it up.
You only get RSI if you type vastly more than you could write by hand. As for the times when typing is inappropriate, those are relatively short notes for which cursive is unnecessary. So far in my life I have come across 0 legitimate uses for cursive.
If I were selling computers/computer technology then I would want to sell them to millions of children over and over endlessly and make billions of $$. With each new gadget, I'd want to sell all over again. Schools and the current malfunctioning education systems are an infinitely deep money pit for computer vendors/technologists to dip into: parents will toss $$ into the pit so that their children can "keep up with the Joneses'". The only worse set of predators on society are politicians and childrens' cancer research institutes (and, in the latter case, your child will die anyway).
Schools obviously can't keep up with the changes: they've dropped cursive writing so that your child can play tic-tac-toe on a computer. Your son or daughter likely signs his/her name with block letters. If so, your child is, IMO, illiterate and here is your child in 15 years:
(this used to be funny but under the current political administration it has become a clear probability).
Current technology will be defunct in 5-10 years. Children are taught skills that will be as useful as navigating the Commodore 64 operating system. Instead they should learn current technology outside the classroom.
My pet peeve: cursive writing, tied to higher-level cognitive functioning in the brain, is no longer taught:
Trade schools are a great place to learn about modern computing if it's needed for your job. I try to focus my children on whatever their interests are at home. I expect their school to focus them on various general subjects.
In fact, I would argue that children have more to learn on a commodore 64 system than a modern PC. First, it's still a cool piece of tech. Second, it throws you right at an interpreter where you can learn basic computer commands that nearly all PCs share. Thirdly, it isn't going to take up an entire class day to get it operational.
What do kids need to learn on modern systems? How to use office? That can be learned at a trade school or on the job. Teach them how to read a manual and computer fundamentals. Computer fundamentals might include a semester on how to use a mouse and how a computer works, not how to use Google Drive.
Let the kids learn to use computers but limit it specifically to that. In the classroom emphasis should be on teaching the subject (and let them use pencil, pen and paper).
And I'm appalled that public schools now teach computer skills but have abandoned cursive writing.