Broom Hilda by Russell Myers for February 28, 2012

Me either…

Good morning, LB.

Writing and arithmetic don’t start with the letter R. Alwayswondered why they’re called the the three R’s?

MARG! You didn’t watch the entire Academy Awards didyou? I heard it lasted 4 1/2 hours.

Well back when some of us still used hammers an’ chisels for our class work it was readin’ ‘ritin’ an’ ‘rithmatic. Thus the three R’s.

They studied the 3 Rs, but not spelling.

Agreed, Broomie and Nerwin. KenTheCoffinDweller’s explanation is correct, but that still is not very reassuring to us who are the literal-minded….

Please don’t pass on mis-information without corroboration. give names and locations of those “number of schools”!

♪♫School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ’rithmetic taught to the tune of a hickory stick.♪♫

You appear to be referring to handwriting in your comment. Students do, almost universally, learn how to write (though many schools have stopped teaching cursive). In Colorado, state exams starting in third grade must be handwritten except for students who have accommodations for a disability, such as blindness. No teacher would even consider omitting handwriting from their curriculum. It would also be very expensive to have a computer dedicated to each student’s individual use.

The third grade writing test requires that each student write an essay on a topic. It must be properly structured with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion. Half of the points given are for syntax, correct grammar, legible handwriting, and correct spelling of grade-level words. Anyone who can pass the third-grade exam is a better writer than many adults.

What you don’t know readin, ritin and rithmetic?

Family, Friends, Fellow Man, Fatherland?