It seems more and more, school districts are deciding not to include cursive writing in the school curriculum. I think this is a grave error. Even though less and less communication is done through cursive correspondence, so very, very much has been done. Think of it! Think of all the family letters, papers, records, etc. that are in your house in cursive form. Think of the great historical documents. Inscriptions in books. If we raise a generation who cannot read cursive, then they can be duped into believing things of old say things they never said.
Don't get me wrong, I think it should only be taught long enough to show it can be written and read by the student. I don't see all the penmanship and such of 50+ years ago being necessary. And I do see a day, long down the road yet, perhaps another fifty or one hundred years, when cursive could be offered as an elective at Jr. High level or something instead of required.
I don't want to see these children become adults who can't read the family Bible entries. That can't read the letters grandpa wrote grandma in WWII. Who can't research old records and documents and find information and wonders.
What about you? Does writing and reading cursive seem totally unnecessary to you? Are you glad you can read cursive?
I can understand your point in this post but I have to say from a person who of course learned cursive I get very aggravated in having to read cursive in family tree research. Most times it is barely legible. Someday 100 years from now a genealogist will be thankful for the print.
ReplyDeleteI had to decipher many men's handwriting in my last job, so I feel your pain.
DeleteI can see software programs being written down the line that will decipher cursive writing. It is a lost art these days sadly. I see the advantage of learning it, but also tge disadvantage with how much technology is changing daily.
ReplyDeleteBetty
That does sound like a possibility! 😉
DeleteI have always been terrible with penmanship. I do a weird mixture of both cursive and printing and it looks like a 6 year old wrote it. I do love to see pretty handwriting in cursive especially like Calligraphy. I agree with you, i dont understand why it has to go away.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was never a fan and my handwriting sucks, I still think it should be taught. How will the next generation sign documents and checks?
ReplyDeleteSimple is best, I write using print for words and have been complimented on my excellent writing but then my signature is a scrawl.
ReplyDeleteWow, I never even considered that if children aren't taught cursive, they won't be able to read it! How limiting. How scary!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I only use cursive when writing checks. I print everything else that I write.
I find it quite shocking that so many people (especially young people) never write byu hand today. I understand that the tools are changing, but I think it not wise to abandon handwriting.
ReplyDeleteNot only because, as you say, we would lose the ability to understand the past, but also because it has been demonstrated, that just typing impoverishes the brain. Handwriting stimolates completely different parts of the brain that would never be used.
I think this is something to be considered when decided whether or not to teach our kid handwriting.
Excellent point, Sarah!
DeleteThe benefits of cursive writing go beyond the ability to read old documents, though that's a very good point. Googling 'benefits of cursive writing' leads to many entries, the first from the NY Times: goo.gl/nQgLw6
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I'm sad that my kids' penmanship is so poor, my son's in particular. They didn't get much cursive at school and just try to get them to learn it at home! :(
Thanks for the link!
DeleteIt is so sad to see where our country is going. "The new age" I must be old. I remember in school many moons ago where we had a contest on who could write the best in cursive. It was always a tie between me and another student.
ReplyDeletehttps://enchantedfantasies.blogspot.com/
I like some old school cursive and I think kids should at least be exposed to it. But as a messy lefty, I tend to print and that, along with typing, has helped me in life.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a dollar for every time some kiddo whined he can't read cursive... *shakes head* And yet, some still write using it. It's not gone completely. And it's really not that different. It just takes some concentration.
ReplyDeleteIt may be a dying art. I think that's a shame. @mirymom1 from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
I have been practicing my handwriting lately. Teaching myself fake calligraphy! Love the way cursive looks!
ReplyDeleteMy mother had the most beautiful clear hand.
DeleteThere once was a time when I could read and write shorthand. That time has long gone, mostly because it was never put into much practice. It worries me that the same will happen to cursive. While not many people write actual checks anymore, the handwriting is something that one should always practice. My penmanship has gone down the drain as I have become older, but at least it is still mostly legible.
ReplyDelete~Mary
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I am glad I can read and write cursive. I have to read a lot of printed penmanship, and that is becoming harder to read sometime than cursive. I don't know if penmanship is stressed anymore in schools. Neat handwriting, cursive or otherwise is becoming hard to find. Case in point, I am using a tablet to punch out my letters...less and less need for neat handwriting.
ReplyDeleteI'm a retired teacher and don't like it one bit. I think it helps in brain development. Children need to play, they need music and art. We know it improves the ability to learn.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they cutting out cursive. Time and politics. Too many people want too much taught. We need to make the school year longer and get the politics out. Of course get the politics out is impossible. But that is why cursive is no longer taught. Time and politics.
I think cursive writing is an art. In school it meant becoming one of the "big kids" who could write instead of print and maybe got to use an ink pen instead of a pencil. We still comment when we see someone with beautiful penmanship, my mother's was. Printing doesn't have that personal flair, and I think it's a total loss not to teach it at some level. I think your idea of middle school or Jr. High would be time well spent. Let's get the little ones schooled in their fundamentals first. That doesn't seem to be taught well nowdays either. Reading, writing, spelling, basic math, history, etc. They are still important and will always be. WIthout those skills and knowledge you aren't really educated as far as I'm concerned!
ReplyDeleteOften when I'm writing my stories longhand (before typing them onto my computer), I will use print. But occasionally, I will use cursive. Some habits just stay with you.
ReplyDeleteThe way things are going no one will even be printing anything anymore. Everything will be done with a keyboard. Paper will probably become a thing of the past and everything will be done by computer/iphone or other electrical device.
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