Wait, what? My kid isn’t going to learn cursive? If your child goes to one of the handful of schools in Cairo that have (or say they will soon be) adopting the U.S. Common Core curriculum, they may well be the first generation of kids to have started the “neurological metamorphosis already underway as we adapt to new technology: Typing, which has replaced cursive in Common Core, the New York Times writes in a review of Anne Trubek’s “The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting,” which argues that “the decline and even elimination of handwriting from daily life does not signal a decline in civilization, but rather the next stage in the evolution of communication.” Never mind that “students who take notes by hand outperform students who type, and more type these days,” as the Wall Street Journal (paywall) notes. (The same study made something of a splash. See The Atlantic and Scientific American.)

Cue the forces of The Establishment: “I’m Banning Laptops From My Classroom,” a top law professor writes for the Journal. For parents of tweens and up, it’s hard to disagree with his logic. Try this link for more on why the Common Core is killing cursive, and this for the reaction against the move.

And while we’re on the subject of banning screens, it may be time to limit junior’s screen time. Don’t let the standard hyperbole in the New York Post’s headline turn you off: “It’s ‘digital heroin’: How screens turn kids into psychotic junkies” raises issues worth considering. At least one Cairo-area school has recently hosted the documentary Screenagers (watch the trailer, run time 2:50), and if it’s not appearing anywhere near you soon, the New York Times’ interview with the film’s director, and MD named Delaney Ruston is worth a read.