Eliminating the teaching of cursive writing in schools...

**LanaBear** · 06-13-2011 06:31 PM

I thought this was an interesting topic on the radio this morning, I'm sure many of you have heard about it too. I will admit, much more controversial than I ever thought it would be.

How do you feel about schools eliminating cursive writing from schools? Most are replacing it with "keyboarding" classes.

I understand, but I don't. Personally, I have a weird writing style. I write in a mix of printing and cursive, all co-existing together, lol.

I was reading a blog earlier today about it and the guy said something about, the biggest lie he was ever told was that after 3rd, he would be required to write in nothing but cursive. I got a laugh out of that because I remember something similar.

I do think, even if this isn't going to be a focus in education, they need to at least teach the basics of it, like how to read it, etc. Or is cursive the new shorthand?

What say you?

**ItsASecret** · 06-13-2011 06:48 PM

It will never be a focus anymore like it was. Teachers say "told was that after 3rd, he would be required to write in nothing but cursive" in order to make kids actually try to write in cursive. It is hard to learn, the kids get frustrated, it is a gimmick to get them to do it. But in this day and age people do not write, we type so having some computer skills I think would be of great benefit. Things are only going to be going forward in technology. People do not even write letters anymore they are called emails now.

**Little** · 06-13-2011 06:55 PM

I think it's important that they be able to read it. As you mentioned, there are people who write in cursive (I'm one!) and they'll need to be able to decipher it.
But as for replacing them with keyboarding classes, can you imagine asking 3rd graders not to look at their screen or keyboard when they type? That's what I had to do in my (7th grade state-required) keyboarding class, and it was pretty tough. Do they still do the screen and key covering? I typed just as fast before that class as after, though I probably make fewer mistakes now that I've been typing for almost 20 years. I do still use the home keys, to my credit!

**BabyGirl** · 06-13-2011 07:39 PM

Just wanted to thank you Lana for taking me back, oh say 50 years .. LOL.

Oh yes, the young start with Block Letters, the the Capital Block letters, then the Proper use of the Upper Case and Lower case Block Letters, then the, Cursive upper case and lower case block letters and how you have to scroll them together when you make a word from the fancy Curvy letters instead of just the Block letters.

Then the Sound the letter makes and then the sound that more than one letter makes Next a whole sentence, " Fun with and Jane "

And if perchance the book you are reading is in TYPE, or Block letters and you must do an essay in Cursive.. But the questions on the chalk board are written in that beautiful Script ( Cursive)

Plan for a grade of " F' the first try in 2nd grade . Oops in our schools, you got a Pass or Needs Improvement.

Now on to the real tests. Can your kids read, Can they write , are they learning to ( if not in school ). Does it matter if you can read their writing or them read yours ?

Cursive I find is so much harder to read than Block letters or ' Your own Style of the Mixture" unless it's that flowing Calligraphic type. Of course if I take my time and really concentrate I can write almost a good as this Antiqua I use .

But who has the time to hand write anything anymore , other than an address on an Envelope and maybe a signature on a loan or Check from a bank .

Our Kids and Grandkids will be the ones with " F's" on their report cards if they cannot type, use a computer, hand in write " Legibly " In the Readers Mind or Vision...

Most everything is taught to our brains at a young age, the seeds are planted, you either excel, try or feel a failure or just learn to write and read and get your point across or make your point .

Then throw in Math ??? Along with Words, in the same sentence ?

" If to have, two trains each weighing 2 tons going towards each other at the rate of 200 hundred miles an hour, which of the 2 train conductors are told to switch tracks to the number 2 tract on the left so the can avoid the accident too ?

Go figure.. Pun Intended

**rcoreyus** · 06-13-2011 11:22 PM

There is only limited time to teach things in school, so I think we need to drop some older skills to pick up newer ones. I agree with little that it is good to be able to read cursive. I don't think I've written in cursive in more than 20 years.

**Maximus** · 06-14-2011 02:18 AM

Before going about eliminating "things", it would be good to know what are the set of skills and qualities schools want to develop in the children.
So far there hasn't been a discussion let alone an agreement.
There are private schools that clearly made these choices and made them part of their positioning.
Public schools are nowhere near that.

So, yes, what are the set of skills and qualities schools want to develop in the children ?

To answer the question on the thread, I think it's a very bad idea.

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 06-14-2011 03:03 AM

I remember when I was 11 years of age, there was this girl at school who wrote beautiful cursive I was that enthrawled with it, her writing, that I tried to copy her and I still write like that today...

To me? It's creative, showing your creativity surely we are left brain, right brain and if we want to be taught what is going to get us the furtherest in life, shouldn't a teacher know our talents? If we are artistic, or analitical?

It sounds like the world wants people to be robots, type only....and we know where computers have got our kids, no - where.... unless they are interested in that field....

**Mes T** · 06-14-2011 03:18 AM

Ooh hang on there miss CW, I don't agree with that last bit.

Good luck finding a job nowadays if you don't have SOME computer skills! They didn't teach us much in the ways of typing, using Office products, etc, at school... and now at my job I'm continuously playing catch-up.

I think kids in the future can grow up and be able to do extraordinary things, with some basic computer skills already in their pockets from primary school.

Computers aren't just about video games and getting sucked into naughty chat rooms... They're the present, the future, pretty much the foundation of everything.

And have to chime in... I was in primary school a decade and a half or so ago and even THEN they told us we would have to use cursive from a certain grade forward!

PAH!

An argument one of my teachers made was that cursive was quicker to write in... as you don't have to lift your pen and put it back down as often. This makes some sense to me. So makes me wonder why get rid of cursive instead of block letters? I guess because generic computer fonts, for whatever reason, are block? Meh!

**LanaBear** · 06-14-2011 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by CHANDLERS WISH

and we know where computers have got our kids, no - where.... unless they are interested in that field....

LOL - I have to agree with Mes and disagree with you there... Computers are everywhere these days. Heck, even my Dr's offices don't do folder charts anymore, they all carry around tablet's and our charts our all computerized.

Personally, I think computer skills are an absolute MUST these days.

About 5 years ago, I hired a gal who said she had computer skills. It's a basic thing, so I didn't need to think I needed to "test" her on it, she's was coming to work in my finance staff, so, you would have thought she wouldn't have embellished too much. Two days in, when she asked me what the "thing" next to her keyboard was... I said what "thing", she walked me over to her desk and showed me her mouse... Uh, well lady, you see it navigates around your desktop. She says, why do I need to navigate around my desktop. She was thinking her literal desktop, not her computer desktop. Little things like this went on for about a week. Me having to show her how to retrieve files, how to save files, etc. I couldn't take it no more. She was let go a week into her probation.

And, not even 3 months ago, I was at a client when another co-worker of mine was asked if he could walk the end users through on mouse navigation. We both looked at each other like "What?" The lady proceeded to tell us that her team needed to be taught how to use a mouse and navigate around the application. Come to find out, they all did everything via keyboard shortcuts and had no clue what a mouse was for. And this is a very well known company.

*sigh* Obviously, those are two extremes, I would hope so anyways. But, I think kids definitely need computer skills. Both my boys have their own laptops and know how to get around, etc. They don't play on them, they do school related things on them, but, they definitely will not be without that skill when they grow up.

**SaharaJim** · 06-14-2011 12:28 PM

Beautiful cursive writing is going the way of memorizing multipication tables. Is it a "good" and "necessary skill"? no..not in "todays" world. I will go so far as to "predict" that in a hundred years; reading and writing cursive will be a skill on par with reading and writing latin or greek.