Cursive writing in school

Options
13»

Replies

  • deninevi
    deninevi Posts: 934 Member
    Options
    My older son is in 4th grade. He started learning cursive in 3rd. grade.
  • Sasssy69
    Sasssy69 Posts: 547 Member
    Options
    My daughter attends the Mead school district, they are still teaching cursive,,,, District 81 does not so I hear. Thats a shame,

    Actually, this is incorrect. My daughter is in the 4th grade in District 81, and she is being taught cursive. This is s a school to school thing, not a district thing. I'm glad she's being taught it, but it's not as if I can't teach her it myself. It's easy enough. I'd rather she learn to type.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    Options
    I was taught cursive in I believe, 3rd grade and was not allowed to write in print until I was in middle school. I thought it was ridiculous and actually my handwriting is now a half cursive half print hybrid because of it.

    I think both neat, print writing and basic cursive should be taught. I do not think children should be told that they aren't allowed to write in print though like I was, because clearly that is what most people use these days.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    Options
    Kids start school in the September following their 4th birthday here (UK) and at the last school I worked in, they were taught cursive writing from the very start.
  • lundii
    lundii Posts: 151 Member
    Options
    I am a teacher and I teach cursive writing as well.
    The kids start in grade 2 with it.
    But I live in Germany and it is a bit different here.
    The newest thing here is, that they will stop teaching cursive writing, They say, the kids have enough other things to learn and don't need to spend any time or energy on this cursive writing.
    So... I will stop teaching it soon.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    Options
    I heard this too... what a shame. I don't get the point of it is. But whatever. I learned cursive in 2nd grade. Use it to sign my name, and when I'm too lazy to take notes in regular print...which is 99.99% of the time. Are schools just trying to screw kids as much as they can? Come on, there can't be any real logical reason for this...
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Options
    Personally, I'm torn.

    I think there are so many things that children should be learning instead that there is so little time for during the school day.

    However, I think if it isn't taught then our children will no longer be able to recognize cursive if we don't teach it to them ourselves. Really though, isn't it our responsibility to teach our children the things that we find important?
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
    Options
    I spent hours on top of hours to make my cursive hand writing beautiful, my mother was the one that pushed that. I can't believe they would take it out of teaching all together. Sometimes I'm glad we didn't have kids...just sometimes.
  • CHESHIREKATUS
    CHESHIREKATUS Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    I was pondering this yesterday when someone on the radio mentioned it. It is true that some of us may not use cursive day to day, but I still take a lot of notes by hand: in the field, in meetings, as a college instructor, and sometimes when I feel rushed I will switch over to cursive to speed things up a bit. So, I am not so sure it is as outdated as we think. You may not always have an ipad or laptop handy for note taking. That being said, my daughter's school introduced it to her last year but it is not part of the guided curricula this year (3rd grade-Cali public school). We do still practice it at home, especially when she is practicing sentence structure or spelling. Not sure if she will ever use it, but it is a skill she can fall back on if her tablet is not handy or she is out in the field somewhere and needs to take notes. We also practice keyboard skills though so she can have the best in both worlds. I would much rather the public funding go to math and science education in the school, but I certainly don't see the harm in encouraging good handwriting at home.
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
    Options
    I find it a shame that children are no longer being taught to write in cursive at schools. Currently my child's school district teaches cursive writing, for which I am thankful for. If they ever stopped teaching it, I would immediately buy a cursive handwriting book for her and teach her myself at home at night. Teaching cursive writing goes beyond teaching them a new way to form letters, recognize old forms of communication, or to sign their name. Cursive writing builds neural connections across the corpus collosum (midline) of the brain in a much more efficient manner than does print writing or typing on a keyboard. Creating stronger pathways across the sides of the brain allows for more efficient and effective learning and integration of old and new concepts during the learning process.

    That said, I am also planning on teaching my children to touch type on the computer keyboard when they are older. In today's world, typing is a skill necessary for success in school and in a job. I plan on my children knowing both, but if I had to emphasize one over the other, I would clearly choose learning cursive writing as it improves the whole brain functioning.

Categories