Cursive Writing

SoozeE512

I remember being young and seeing my mother writing in cursive writing (before I had learned) and feeling like she was writing in a foreign language. If kids don't learn how to write it, will they at least learn how to read it?

kdeaux1959

There are a variety of thoughts on this... Some systems actually begin with cursive (I totally disagree with this as a wholesale approach since what most a child reads is printed and there is a disconnect between reading and writing)... Once this is established, I think it is important to teach it if for no other reason than to be able to decode older manuscripts that included cursive writing... Perhaps it should not be a PRIMARY focus as much as it was at one time but we are not talking shorthand here... Which actually does have little use in today's education (and is no longer taught most places). I say keep it.

TinaDay1114

It's not just about learning to write that way -- the very act of writing on paper, and practicing handwriting imprints the letters, and the letter sounds, on a kid's brain. It also helps with fine motor skills, and coordination. Whether you use it later in life or not, you're getting something out of the process, and you don't even realize it.

My kids go to a Montessori school here, where everything abstract they learn also has a physical component -- they are actually performing some action with their hands, even for math. Believe me, if I had learned some things this way when I was younger, I'd have understood things faster / sooner / better than when everything was abstract.

There's a lot of intangible benefits to these kinds of processes, even when they seem (on the surface) to be pointless. The further away from "hands on" we get (keyboards, tablets, etc.) the more we lose the breadth and depth of the learning process, and a true understanding of things. IMHO.

I work in IT right now, so I get that technology is a great thing...but if you do away with the basics in early education, we're all doomed. There's plenty of opportunities for kids to get their hands on keyboards, and no 10 year old will grow up without understanding a computer, even if they don't see one in school until they're 12. The other stuff you can't get anywhere else, so it needs to STAY.

OK...educational rant over. :flowerforyou:

etay888

Fox news just had a segement about Cursive writing .. The discussion was about the consideration of REMOVING teaching cursive writing to our children ... On the premise that the way technology is now a days (texting , tablets , laptops etc) how often do our children actually sit down and write something long hand like that other than in school ... Is the time spent teaching them this skill wasted and better used elsewhere? Personally I feel that it is a skill that should remain.. There are plenty of times where a handwritten letter is FAR more appropriate than something formal and typed ...

Thoughts ??

I once did a response for a 300 level philosophy class in cursive and the prof deducted me 5pts because as he wrote "Grow-ups don't write in cursive" Since when? I went to school for English and children's handwriting in general has gone down sooo much.

llamalland

I think it needs to be taught. However I disagree when teachers focus so much on STYLE, rather than legibility. How many of us write in a textook style of cursive? We develop our own style, which as many of you say, is a combo of print and cursive. Or even combinations of different formal cursive styles... I know mine is a blend of legible and illegible! Not such a good thing! ;-)

But, we are already taking too many shortcuts with kids' education, so let's not settle for another!

healthymom76

They have already stopped teaching it where I am and now they are talking about removing geometry and algebra for the same reason. I personally think that these disciplines are good for children to expand their thinking process. After awhile the technology will prevent our kids from knowing the basic skills. I think it is also important that kids learn things like typing and such as most of their lives will most likely be spent on a computer, but I also think basic skills are very important and I intend on teaching my children them.

mightyminerva

I agree with many other posters: it has its uses! Besides being faster to write than print letters, the fact will remain that other people will use cursive. At the very least we all should be able to recognise it, and that takes learning it ourselves. It's also a lovely way to represent oneself in letters or on cards. It's a skill that not everyone necessarily uses but will be handy. Besides, I think most adults have some kind of print/cursive blend in handwriting, so I think it helps to express individuality!

molly_grue

My kids go to Montessori so I'm happy they still will be learning cursive.

hhindsle

this is hard for me to wrap my head around. i mean, not teaching a kid to write cursive sounds ridiculous, but if i think about it, they really don't need it all that often, and even now - when I write things out, i usually print and not cursive.

that said, does a kid need to know cursive to read cursive? I mean, there are some historical documents written in cursive that i would want my chile to be able to read and not rely on a "translation" from cursive to print.

This is my argument. I did genealogy when I was in 4-H. If I had been unable to read cursive and old style loopy cursive I would not have been able to follow my family history very far at all. 3/4 of the documentation I gathered was hand written. I never valued history before because it is in the past who cares but the older I get the more value I see in it. I want my children to be able to read cursive! Our school has already stopped teaching it through the regular curriculum. We had a couple of teacher's and parent volunteer's start a cursive club to help.

fudgebudget

I learned both typing and cursive in my education - it's not like typing isn't something that shouldn't have been taught before, and you don't have to choose between the two. I realize that classroom management is difficult, and without a supportive parent base it can affect the efficiency of instruction which is why some things get cut, but there's no reason that a child shouldn't learn both.

They don't teach cursive in the area where I work, and I've had students tell me that they can't read my notes on the board (I'm a college librarian and still teach research skills) that are in cursive. My handwriting is nowhere near sloppy. I think that learning cursive is just as much about being able to read it as write it. I cannot imagine going to college and having to interrupt a professor in the middle of a lecture to say, "I'm sorry, could you write that in print? I never learned cursive."

TinaDay1114

I can understand their point if the time spent teaching cursive would truly be spent educating children on another aspect of English. I truly believe, that the English written language as most of us know it will be a completely lost art/language in the years to come. While the use of cursive may not be necessary, it did promote attention to detail, fine motor skills, coordination, all combined with the need for effective use of grammar/punctuation. Accurately produced cursive script looks very nice and it also is a reflection of the individual utilizing it.

The thing is, they say the effort will be placed elsewhere but I doubt that it will spent on other language areas and that saddens me. I am amazed when looking at billboard signs, advertisements, kids facebooks pages, emails from coworkers, etc. at the decline in spelling/grammar among the general populace.

^^^^^ THIS!! EXACTLY.
I have friends who teach middle school and high school, and have really smart kids who can't translate any of their thoughts to a coherent sentence or paragraph. They can tell the teacher what they've read or understood, but they can't communicate it on paper. So so scary. And sad. I spent my childhood writing -- stories, poems, plays, whatever. And everything I've ever done in my career has been better for it.

TinaDay1114

My kids go to Montessori so I'm happy they still will be learning cursive.

MINE TOO. Looooove Maria Montessori. Over 100 years ago, and her methods are still spot on. Brilliant.

wwk10

We learned in third grade and were expected to write in cursive after that.
My son spent a few days on it in fourth grade just to expose him to what it is.
I dont think its a big deal to lose it, but I have been fascinated since learning it is no longer taught to all children.

Someone mentioned signatures. Myson is almost in high school and his "signature" is his printed name.

A friend has children in high school. He and his wife can leave notes in cursive and its like code. None of their children can read it.

Wonderwoman2677

I think a relatively small amount of time should be spent on it. My son just learned it in 3rd grade... he can sign his name, but he was falling behind in reading. A few days, or a week and no more should be dedicated to this. Send it home as summer work... I'd rather work on it with my kids at home.

Schnuddelbuddel

Uhm...

I'm not in the US. I'm from Germany, now living in Ireland.

In Germany, we learned cursive writing FIRST. That's all there was. Cursive. Eventually, we automatically changed to type when we got older. Why? I've no idea. I write type more than cursive now if I do longhand.

Here in Ireland, kids are taught type FIRST. Then, after a few years in school, they add cursive. I don't get that though. Cursive is a LOT harder to do and I would much prefer the kids to spend more time on proper grammar and punctuation than add a fancy letter or two to the mix.

Also, a lot of children have trouble writing clearly and with cursive writing it gets even worse. So, unless you start off with it, and let the writing naturally progress to either stay cursive or move to type, I don't see what difference it makes.


And to the person who said 'let's stop teaching maths' - if you really liken writing the same letters in a different font to 'not learning maths because there are calculators'... then you're a lost cause. Unless you know maths, a calculator is useless. Not knowing cursive writing does not mean you don't know the ins and outs of putting words and sentences together.

sktllmdrhmz

And to the person who said 'let's stop teaching maths' - if you really liken writing the same letters in a different font to 'not learning maths because there are calculators'... then you're a lost cause. Unless you know maths, a calculator is useless. Not knowing cursive writing does not mean you don't know the ins and outs of putting words and sentences together.

:laugh:

k8blujay2

Even if they take it out of schools, I will still teach it to my children.... along with writing thank you notes and even letters. :happy: Just because those kinds of personal interactions are appreciated even by technocrats... :

thetrishwarp

I write in cursive when I make lists, and I make a lot of lists. I think it's important, but not as important as spelling and grammer.

I will quit life if I see people in workplaces emailing things like "heyy did u get dat project dun dat i askd 4? lemme kno asap thx " just because they only learned "technological shorthand"

Boo that. Language all the way.

korsicash

It should still be a taught skill. All people learn differently and this opens up a different neuro path way for the kids. Using the it is all digital excuse means we should no longer teach basic math, history or science. Why do they need to know anything but how to run a computer? All the other subjects are right at their finger tips as well.

Jersey_Devil

As an adult I rarely use cursive, but then again I NEVER use calculus. So stop teaching the kids calculus! Its a waste of time.

AJ_Pete

Cursive makes me feel fancy. Kids need to feel fancy, especially in this sad country.

phillieschic

It was removed from the fourth grade curriculum here and my now 14 yo son has no idea how to sign his name.

It was brought back last year when my 9 yo was in fourth grade.

Absolutely insane to remove it...it's a necessity!

WhitneyAnnabelle

We can stop teaching them math while we're at it since we have calculators and all that.

I still use an abacus.

Hahaha. Yes.

WhitneyAnnabelle

As an adult I rarely use cursive, but then again I NEVER use calculus. So stop teaching the kids calculus! Its a waste of time.

Eh, not if they're going to, you know, make rocket ships or something.

Darkskinned88

i thought it has been removed from the curriculum. We type everything and most signatures are just scribbles, teach spanish instead or something

nakabi

Fox news just had a segement about Cursive writing .. The discussion was about the consideration of REMOVING teaching cursive writing to our children ... On the premise that the way technology is now a days (texting , tablets , laptops etc) how often do our children actually sit down and write something long hand like that other than in school ... Is the time spent teaching them this skill wasted and better used elsewhere? Personally I feel that it is a skill that should remain.. There are plenty of times where a handwritten letter is FAR more appropriate than something formal and typed ...

Thoughts ??

Let's dumb down education even more - shall we?
We've already fallen way behind the rest of the civilized world when it comes to math and science, and now writing?
They should just teach kids how to get fat and play games....:frown:

THIS!!!

I was taught how to write in cursive and love it! I don't use it all the time, but at least I still know how to write in it. Things are being made more and more easy for kids these days in school and we aren't doing them any favours!

Darkskinned88

I know cursive, studied Latin for 6 years, and can long divide in my head....man they should've just taught me website coding instead i could've been Dark Zuckerburg lol

Jersey_Devil

As an adult I rarely use cursive, but then again I NEVER use calculus. So stop teaching the kids calculus! Its a waste of time.

Eh, not if they're going to, you know, make rocket ships or something.

i can make a killer rocket ship out of leggos!

Tonnina

they should spend more time on spelling and grammar!

I agree with this statement. Cursive isn't that important, but is it still a part of life. I think they should keep it. My long hand is a combo of non-cursive and cursive writing... It looks pretty and is more legible that way.

jkaupanger

I'm dyslexic, so I try to avoid writing when at all possible. Back in the day, I was forced to take special cursive writing classes. Even with my issues, I say keep it.