Cursive Writing

[SW MP15]

I'm amazed, that they no longer teach cursive writing in school any more. We started when I started the first day of 3rd grade. My grandson is now in the 9th grade (first year of high school) and has no clue what cursive writing is. Are they supposed to hand print contracts? They can not even read what our Forefathers wrote? How do they take notes in a class in a speedy fashion? How are they going to sign checks, someday? I know checks are going to be obsolete soon? But they can't sign their names! They print it!

I had a hardware store list for tomorrow. He picked it up awhile ago and looked at me all silly. And asked me what it said. I told him to hand it to my wife and she read it perfectly.

This year he is in a very High Tech High School. And has no books! Everything is done on a small laptop, even brings it home for his homework. And what class work I've seen, is pre printed off material, with one or two sentence answers?

I understand the world is changing? But come on!

 

[cmort666]

They barely teach READING anymore. In Catholic grammar school I learned to read and right using phonics because we use a... PHONETIC ALPHABET!!!

I remember some left wing imbecile in usenet babbling inanely about how "sight reading" was just fantastic.

I replied that so-called "sight reading" defeated entirely the purpose of a phonetic alphabet and that we might just as well teach Chinese or Japanese (or hieroglyphics) as sight reading. His ONLY "criticism" was that Rush Limbaugh advertised a phonics based product on his show.

I'm old enough to remember when ignorance WASN'T considered a "virtue"...

 

[Arik]

I can go a step further. They are afraid to burden our poor children with homework less their fragile little hearts stop beating. Kids are just little people, they can learn like anyone else. I'm not 40 yet but by the time I was done 2nd grade I learned cursive writing and add/subtract/multiply/divide up go 12. This was back in 87

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Stevens]

To make matters worse, what they teach instead of writing is probably some completely useless, or worse, subject.

 

[Maddog 521]

Welcome to the Madness of American Education!
My granddaughter taught herself, with a little help from her grandmother, when she was was 6.
Crazy isn't it?

 

[LedFowl]

Are they supposed to hand print contracts?

I guess it will be DocuSign by email. Scary thought.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

They barely teach READING anymore. In Catholic grammar school I learned to read and write using phonics because we use a... PHONETIC ALPHABET!!!

Fixed it for you. I couldn't resist.

Wyoming dropped cursive several years ago, but I understand the state realized that was the wrong choice and reintroduced it into the curriculum.

 

[SW MP15]

So far this year he has had homework each day. This is a Science Technolgy Engineering Mathematics high school. STEM Prep Academy. When he graduates this high school. He will already have two years of college credits.

It's just crazy!

 

[arjay]

I would guess a school like that would have to prioritize what's worth spending time on and what can be cut

 

[ralph7]

I was taught cursive and wrote in that style for years. I have now been printing so long, I have lost the ability to write in cursive.
If you don't use it, you DO lose it!

 

[Rule3]

I was taught cursive and wrote in that style for years. I have now been printing so long, I have lost the ability to write in cursive.
If you don't use it, you DO lose it!

I have also.

Actually my Mother always yelled at me when I cursed so I never was very good at the writing part either.

 

[fclef]

The kids can`t even hold a writing implement correctly anymore.
Regards , Pete

 

[snubbyfan]

 

[Boudiepitbull]

It's not just in school. In one of my last work situations we were not allowed to write in cursive in patient files except for your signature on each note. All case notes had to be block printed in blue or black ink. Any mistake had to be initialed with one line struck thru it so that it was clear you had not attempted to cover up or alter a case note after the fact. You could not skip a line or leave any spaces where something could be added later. For someone who does not always adapt to arbitrary rules it gets a little hard sometimes to always comply at first.

 

[kpap]

Wow I don't know where you all live, but my girls where taught cursive. My third grader is doing it now. My Freshmen completed algebra 1 and 2 in middle school. She is in AP geometry as a freshmen. Both starting in 1st grade had tons of homework every night. These kids are light years ahead of where I was in school and I'm 41...... This is all public schooling, I'm baffled your kids aren't being taught like our kids......

 

[31FordA]

As a Catholic school student in the 80's I learned cursive in second grade with the Palmer Method. Learning cursive was a big deal, we were learning to write like the grown ups. In third grade Sister Alice Regina kept after us until we were all good enough to get penmanship awards. We also had phonics everyday.

The schools today seem to be turning out functional illiterates. Some of the younger people I work with have atrocious spelling and grammar skills. Trying to read their reports I don't know whether to laugh or cry. They can't even print legibly. I am reminded of a "Simpsons" episode where Mr. Burns admonishes a group signing a pact "remember, you can't all sign your names with an X".

 

[CBus660R]

I was taught cursive and wrote in that style for years. I have now been printing so long, I have lost the ability to write in cursive.
If you don't use it, you DO lose it!

Same here. I don't think I ever used it for note taking, I always printed. Once I got in the work force in '98, the only writing I ever did was on a notepad next to my phone lol Everything else was done on a computer. At least I can still write my name in cursive for those random checks I write a couple times a year since all my monthly bills are now done online with a computer too!

 

[medic15al]

Good riddance to cursive! Very few have the gift, patience, or skill to write in cursive to be clearly legible like the example above.

In the medical side, I often told doctors who are writing drug orders for a critical care transport to print legibly and use the full decimal for drug doses to reduce any misunderstanding in the treatment.

Print reduces mistaken words in a sloppy cursive.

 

[cmort666]

The schools today seem to be turning out functional illiterates.

Well, aren't they easier to control?

 

[Rustyt1953]

I cannot recall the last time I read a novel, text book, Word doc, owners manual or bar tab written in cursive.

 

[kozmic]

For me cursive requires a certain amount of muscle memory, dexterity, coordination, forethought and even head scratching at times. Printing only requires paper and a pencil.

I've been enginerding wayyy too long.

 

[Huskerguy]

The point of cursive is being missed. Think about what it takes - you have to see the letter with your eyes, visualize the strokes, then make the strokes over and over. It teaches much more than just making a letter, it is working a part of the brain that doesn't get used much. It is very good for fine motor skills.

The Christian schools I just retired from all taught it and it is done well. It is a lot like music and math that all use a part of the brain.

My wife works with sped kids at a local high school and one kid missed a class she was in. The kid asked her what he missed and she said to go ask another student for their notes. A little while later this kid comes back to her with this puzzled look. A, Mrs. Smith can you help with this. She says sure what do you have. Well, he said, it is in that cursive writing and I have no idea what this is saying. Poor kid was lost, couldn't read notes. Just think we could write letters about this kids and they would never know what we are saying.

At the last school I helped start from scratch we taught 1st grade math in Kindergarten. Our first graders can tell you the subject noun, verb, and prepositional phrase of a sentence plus more. The thing is young kids can do so much more than the system allows. The goal, whether stated of not in most schools is to keep people together and slowing things down a bit is the only way that works.

Someone said their kid had both Algebra I and II done by middle school which I assume is 8th grade. We had Al I done by 8th grade, getting II done is unique.

Everyone is correct, the educational system is extremely broken. I got out of the public sector 5 years ago and the private sector in June. There is a world of difference between the two. Give me private any day - no money but the families and kids are awesome.

 

[DWalt]

The kids can`t even hold a writing implement correctly anymore.
Regards , Pete

At least in my area, teaching cursive is like teaching ancient Assyrian cuneiform - it doesn't happen. My grandchildren have no idea how to read or write cursive. And when they print, they grasp a pencil or pen strangely, sort of like a left-handed person does when they write.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

I cannot recall the last time I read a novel, text book, Word doc, owners manual or bar tab written in cursive.

I cracked up at this, Rusty. I write customers' bar tabs in cursive!

Barbara has written two novels -- not a word of either in cursive.

Several years ago Barbara challenged me to join her in the annual, November, novel writing exercise known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I accepted the challenge, went out and bought five top-spiral notebooks, and wrote the requisite 50,000-word novel in one month -- all in cursive. That's an average of a bit more than 1,666 words a day for 30 days.

Like shooting, I enjoy staying in practice with cursive.

 

[sasu]

I have manners, I do not cursive.

 

[Cardboard_killer]

They can not even read what our Forefathers wrote?

To be fair, even though I learned as you did, I've always had a hard time reading some of the old writings, especially with the letter and spelling changes--the s looks like f--since the 1700s.

 

[brigeton]

I too loose it because I don't use it. I write a few checks each year to businesses that don't do debit cards and have to stop and think about what I am writing, it doesn't come naturally like it used to. It's kind of the opposite of typing. I went to school in the 60's and took 1 semester of typing cause it was an easy class and mostly girls. I figured what do I need typing for? I'm not going to be a secretary. Now all these years later with computers I'm still trying to teach myself how to type with all my fingers.

 

[Maddog 521]

My cursive writing all runs together.

 

[steveno]

I was in a drafting/engineering department for 21 years and all information on the drawing was printed in ink. after that I could barely write my name on a piece of paper. I worked with a book perfect binder for 7 years and I can't recognize my own writing on checks and no two of them are even close to the same

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I'm a left hander that the schools, with my mom's permission, "converted" to a right hander. As a result, my cursive writing was absolutely horrible. I could block print faster, and with greater clarity than use cursive writing, and over the years, the public school teachers I had learned to accommodate me. Fast forward to 1989 and I hade to pass the GRE test to enter graduate school. One of the requirements of the test was an essay that had to be handwritten in cursive writing. No exceptions. So I wrote my essay out in block print, and then went back and linked each letter in each word to each other with pen strokes. It looked horrible, but it must have worked as I was accepted into graduate school, and completed my Master's degree after 2 years.

By the way, I still block print to this day. Some habits die hard.

Regards,

Dave