Really? PS kids don't learn cursive anymore? Where have I been?

[Halcyon]

Just read something last night that said that PS kids don't learn cursive anymore. This is a generalization, of course, but is it true?

 

Color me clueless.

[catalinakel]

In my experience, it is taught, but not required to be used very often. It has become somewhat passe.

[Jen500]

My kids learned cursive in public school. I think they started towards the end of 1st grade.

[LizzyBee]

My dd who was in ps until 2nd grade learned cursive.

[In The Great White North]

My dc didn't learn true cursive, but something more like italics - all connected but not slanted. I forget what the teacher called it but they seemed to like it. It looked sloppy and childish to me - I can't imagine anyone wanting to write like that when they're forty.

[Lovedtodeath]

They only learn their signature here. They concentrate their time on computers and keyboarding instead.

[SquirrellyMama]

They only learn their signature here. They concentrate their time on computers and keyboarding instead.

 

I was going to do this until someone mentioned that they wouldn't be able to read cursive. So now we are teaching cursive. I don't write much in cursive but sometimes use a mix of print and cursive.

 

Kelly

[spradlin02]

I question if it really still needs to be taught. It was originally used because of the drawbacks of earlier writing instruments.

 

My kids are learning in Montessori, but next year I'll be in the position to teach them. I'll certainly do so, but I still wonder about the validity of it today.

[Halcyon]

My child prefers it to print. That said, he's still faster with print, but he likes the way it looks, and I think it makes him feel 'more grown up' to write in cursive.

[dangermom]

A lot of schools have dropped it. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me--cursive is what's meant to be written, it's faster and easier than printing. We only teach printing first because that's what letters look like in books and we're teaching reading at the same time, and we teach it so young.

[Crissy]

I was going to do this until someone mentioned that they wouldn't be able to read cursive. Kelly

 

My boys don't write cursive, but they can read it.

I suppose if they had no exposure whatsoever to cursive, they wouldn't recognize several of the letters, but there is enough cursive in the world that teaching them how to read it was quick and easy.

[Mermaid Mama]

My boys don't write cursive, but they can read it.

I suppose if they had no exposure whatsoever to cursive, they wouldn't recognize several of the letters, but there is enough cursive in the world that teaching them how to read it was quick and easy.

 

Lucky for your boys.

I have met kids exposed to little or none and they themselves have told me that they can not read the letters their grandparents write because they don't understand cursive.

[Jean in Newcastle]

http://essayinfo.com/articles/a11.php

 

Notice this paragraph: "The SAT college-admissions test still requires students, at the end of the test, to copy a few paragraphs saying that the student didn't cheat, says Sandra Riley, spokeswoman for the College Board, which gives the test.

 

Students are asked to write out the paragraphs, rather than just sign a written statement, so the College Board has a copy of the student's handwriting in case later verification of the student's identity is needed, she says."

 

This has been in the news here in our area because local students were not able to meet this small requirement.

[Mermaid Mama]

If it were on the FCAT - all Floridian kids would know how to write it!

They teach it in 3rd grade around here but the kids don't use it beyond that.

 

My daughter does all her Growing With Grammar in cursive.

She can print for other subjects.

 

I believe it is as important as the 3 R's.

Cursive is the "art" of writing.

 

I can't imagine thinking that a child had a well rounded education if they couldn't write it! I know this is me just being an unreasonable snob - because I know some kids are WAY more smart than *I* am....and they understand far more history..... and whatever..... It's just that I feel you are lacking a huge skill to not know the art of writing! I have seen adults who try and it is sad! It's not hard to learn if someone is taught the proper way. What will these kids do when they sign legal forms that say "print name here" and "signature"....will they just print it twice? I thought the whole thing about signatures was they are hard to impersonate. Ok....rant over........

[Mommyof4ks]

I was going to do this until someone mentioned that they wouldn't be able to read cursive. So now we are teaching cursive. I don't write much in cursive but sometimes use a mix of print and cursive.

 

Kelly

 

This is the problem that we are having with my dd. She cannot read it! We are planning to teach it to her, but she had a lot of trouble just learning to write due to muscle issues.

[Ellie]

A lot of schools have dropped it. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me--cursive is what's meant to be written, it's faster and easier than printing. We only teach printing first because that's what letters look like in books and we're teaching reading at the same time, and we teach it so young.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[QueenCat]

Both of mine learned cursive in 2nd and 3rd grade at the public school. Academically, our public school was excellent. No regrets sending them there. Didn't have issues until middle school, and that was more social than academic.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

A lot of schools have dropped it. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me--cursive is what's meant to be written, it's faster and easier than printing. We only teach printing first because that's what letters look like in books and we're teaching reading at the same time, and we teach it so young.

 

:iagree::iagree:

I cannot imagine taking extensive notes in classes as I did without cursive which is much faster than printing. It really has only taken about 10 to 15 minutes a day most days of the school week to have my ds become proficient in cursive and we shall continue to do so. I have him do copywork in cursive:D

[msjones]

Schools around here teach it beginning in 2nd or 3rd grade. I used to teach it when I was a 2nd grade teacher.

 

Lots of parents complained about it, by the way. They thought it was a waste of time.

 

I thought they made some good points, but I went ahead and taught it anyway.

[funschooler5]

:iagree::iagree:

I cannot imagine taking extensive notes in classes as I did without cursive which is much faster than printing. It really has only taken about 10 to 15 minutes a day most days of the school week to have my ds become proficient in cursive and we shall continue to do so. I have him do copywork in cursive:D

 

 

I've never found cursive to be faster than printing. It seems like you spend a lot of time going back over lines that you've already made, and then there's the connecting of letters, which seems to waste even more time. The only time I write in cursive is when I sign my name, or if I remember to do it in greeting cards (for some reason, cursive seems more appropriate for those :tongue_smilie:).

 

That said, my kids learn cursive so they can read it, but it's also helped my ADHD kid with his handwriting (printing and cursive). I think cursive forces him to "stay within the lines" more, and it's almost impossible for him to do letter reversals, like he does with printing.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I've never found cursive to be faster than printing. It seems like you spend a lot of time going back over lines that you've already made, and then there's the connecting of letters, which seems to waste even more time. The only time I write in cursive is when I sign my name, or if I remember to do it in greeting cards (for some reason, cursive seems more appropriate for those :tongue_smilie:).

 

That said, my kids learn cursive so they can read it, but it's also helped my ADHD kid with his handwriting (printing and cursive). I think cursive forces him to "stay within the lines" more, and it's almost impossible for him to do letter reversals, like he does with printing.

 

Could be a generational thing;)? I am almost 50 and graduated high school before computers were commonplace in homes and was expected to use cursive for most of my schooling:)

[LibrarianMom]

My dd is in 2nd grade and currently learning cursive. As I walk up and down the hallways viewing posted work, I notice that after 2nd grade, and definitely 3rd, is posted in cursive or is typed. Our elementary goes up to 8th grade.

[RegGuheert]

http://essayinfo.com/articles/a11.php

 

Notice this paragraph: "The SAT college-admissions test still requires students, at the end of the test, to copy a few paragraphs saying that the student didn't cheat, says Sandra Riley, spokeswoman for the College Board, which gives the test.

 

Students are asked to write out the paragraphs, rather than just sign a written statement, so the College Board has a copy of the student's handwriting in case later verification of the student's identity is needed, she says."

 

This has been in the news here in our area because local students were not able to meet this small requirement.

DD17 saw this problem first-hand when she took the SAT last year. She said it took a LONG time to get through that portion of the test since the PS children did not know how to write in cursive. I think the proctor wrote the statement on the board for the students to copy, but there were still a lot of questions because the students were unable to sign their names: "How do you make a capital 'S'," etc.

 

I suspect the College Board will be forced to eliminate this requirement because too many students are unable to fulfill it. IMO, they will have much more luck if they simply ask the students to send a text message with this statement. :tongue_smilie:

[LaissezFaire]

My dd11 only writes in cursive. I love the way cursive looks and I'd hate to see it become a lost art. It's so personal. I know a lot of schools no longer teach it though.

[sandalwood]

We learned cursive and my son writes in it 99.9% of the time (6th grade). He's still kind of slow sometimes but we keep on....

 

Now, kind of a twist on the no cursive... My sister-in-law's kids go to a very "exclusive" private school and I was stunned when she told me that as of next year (6th) they go to ALL laptops only for 6th and up. They have to carry their laptop to school, do ALL their work on it,do all their homework on it and email it to their teacher. I was stunned. I can see the point of learning a lot on the computer since it's the age we are in... But to go to all laptops and drop the paper and pencil? I was stunned. Am I alone? The first thing I thought was that he was not going to know how to write! (He is a struggling student). Maybe I am just "old", ha ;)

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

We learned cursive and my son writes in it 99.9% of the time (6th grade). He's still kind of slow sometimes but we keep on....

 

Now, kind of a twist on the no cursive... My sister-in-law's kids go to a very "exclusive" private school and I was stunned when she told me that as of next year (6th) they go to ALL laptops only for 6th and up. They have to carry their laptop to school, do ALL their work on it,do all their homework on it and email it to their teacher. I was stunned. I can see the point of learning a lot on the computer since it's the age we are in... But to go to all laptops and drop the paper and pencil? I was stunned. Am I alone? The first thing I thought was that he was not going to know how to write! (He is a struggling student). Maybe I am just "old", ha ;)

 

:iagree: Of course, I think students should be well versed in computers and typing:) OTOH, I think paper and pencil should be emphasized for at least up until 8th grade unless I am a dinosaur:D There are so many kids in our country who are not learning the 3 R's and I think the basics should be emphasized along with some technology along the way.

[dangermom]

...I was stunned when she told me that as of next year (6th) they go to ALL laptops only for 6th and up. They have to carry their laptop to school, do ALL their work on it,do all their homework on it and email it to their teacher. I was stunned. I can see the point of learning a lot on the computer since it's the age we are in... But to go to all laptops and drop the paper and pencil? I was stunned. Am I alone? The first thing I thought was that he was not going to know how to write! (He is a struggling student). Maybe I am just "old", ha ;)

That actually strikes me as quite a bad idea. Are the laptops designed for the smaller hands of children? Does anyone at the school know anything whatsoever about ergonomics? I suspect that a lot of those kids are going to get repetitive stress injuries from hours of work with improper posture and using tools designed for adult hands.

[sandalwood]

That actually strikes me as quite a bad idea. Are the laptops designed for the smaller hands of children? Does anyone at the school know anything whatsoever about ergonomics? I suspect that a lot of those kids are going to get repetitive stress injuries from hours of work with improper posture and using tools designed for adult hands.

 

They are actually supposed to buy their own laptop. I didn't even think of what you mentioned!

[Halcyon]

Here's an interesting, if slightly dated (3 years) article on the benefits of handwriting to a child's developement"

 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/67956

[msjones]

It seems that The Public Schools Today are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

If they focus on mastering cursive, they'll have less time for keyboarding, and be criticized for their outdated priorities. Parents do complain that children are only producing handwritten work rather than learning word-processing and/or power point presentations.

 

If they let cursive slide and require that work be typed or power-pointed, they are criticized for neglecting the art of handwritten work.

 

Are you teaching your children to master both? I'm on the fence. It seems that quick, tidy printing and speedy, accurate typing would be sufficient in this day and age.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Are you teaching your children to master both?

Yes. She wasn't ready for cursive when we tried it, so we decided to wait for 3rd grade or 9 years old. She has started keyboarding with http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

 

[funschooler5]

Could be a generational thing;)? I am almost 50 and graduated high school before computers were commonplace in homes and was expected to use cursive for most of my schooling:)

 

Hmm, I don't know....I'm 35, and I learned cursive in 3rd grade and we used it for all of our work up through 8th grade. Once I was in high school, we could do what we wanted (as long as the final copy was in ink or typed), so I went back to printing my work. My parents bought me a word processor when I was a senior (it was supposed to last me through college) but soon after that computers were pretty mainstream. Bad timing on their part :tongue_smilie:. A lot of people did have computers when I was in high school (this was 1988 through 1992) and we took computer courses but they were pretty basic and a lot of it was "print shop" stuff (making greeting cards and banners on dot matrix printers).

 

My kids were amazed that I actually remember when we first got hooked up to the internet. :lol:

[ereks mom]

...that manuscript writing (i.e. printing) was originally developed to help mentally retarded children learn to write because they could not manage cursive. Anyone know if this is really true?

[Jean in Newcastle]

It seems that The Public Schools Today are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

If they focus on mastering cursive, they'll have less time for keyboarding, and be criticized for their outdated priorities. Parents do complain that children are only producing handwritten work rather than learning word-processing and/or power point presentations.

 

If they let cursive slide and require that work be typed or power-pointed, they are criticized for neglecting the art of handwritten work.

 

Are you teaching your children to master both? I'm on the fence. It seems that quick, tidy printing and speedy, accurate typing would be sufficient in this day and age.

 

Yes, my kids are learning to master both from about 3rd or 4th grade on. Typing is not that hard to learn, neither are power-point presentations. Ds types 80% of his work now. He does know and practices cursive every day and does some work in cursive or print depending on the work. He started to learn to type in 3rd grade - just 15 min. a day.

 

Dd will start to learn to type next year at grade 4 because she has some language delays and I wanted to cement her handwriting skills further before starting to type. Again, we will start with only 15 min. a day. All of her work will be printed or in cursive. She will have the opportunity to type her some of her work starting in 5th or 6th grade.

[applesing]

One of the reasons we pulled our dd out of school at the end of public school kindergarten is that the kindergarten teachers spent very little time on printing! I could not believe that my child -- who was taught to print properly at age 4 -- was backsliding into bad printing habits, but the teacher apparently did not teach handwriting.

 

I have heard of many schools who don't require their students to learn and/or use cursive. I want my children to have that skill so that they can write a legible, beautiful thank you note, birthday card or letter someday.

 

That said, we also study typing. I think that all of these skills are extremely important for good communication.

[dangermom]

It seems that The Public Schools Today are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

If they focus on mastering cursive, they'll have less time for keyboarding, and be criticized for their outdated priorities. Parents do complain that children are only producing handwritten work rather than learning word-processing and/or power point presentations.

 

If they let cursive slide and require that work be typed or power-pointed, they are criticized for neglecting the art of handwritten work.

I see your point, but if it was me running the school, I would have a written policy in place with reasons why.

Are you teaching your children to master both? I'm on the fence. It seems that quick, tidy printing and speedy, accurate typing would be sufficient in this day and age.

I plan to do both cursive and typing. But because of the ergonomic dangers* of too much keyboarding at too young an age, our policy is that we will not allow our kids to do much work on the computer until age 10 at least. By which time they will have finished the handwriting program, pretty much (we use G-D Italic). I would prefer them not to spend too much time typing until jr. high, but they will certainly learn how to type well.

 

I don't see any reason to teach typing before 12, unless there's a particular circumstance. Most people my age who learned to type did it at 13-14, and we seem to have done OK with that whole dot-com bubble/digital age thing. There's no rush.

 

I'm just plain against PP until much older. I believe it encourages flashy bells and whistles over content, as well as shallow thinking (since if it doesn't fit on a screen with 3 bullet points, it doesn't get put in). Kids are quite inclined enough to pretty twiddles over content as it is, and it's not like PP is a difficult program that takes years to master.

 

 

*My husband is very careful about ergonomics, esp. for young folks. He's a software engineer and has had tendinitis for over 10 years.

[Lovedtodeath]

Speaking of ergonomic problems, I think that a laptop would be worse than a desktop.

 

Just musing, but I very much prefer a pencil and a tablet of paper when I am doing a lot of research and writing because the computer is much harder for me to use.

[FO4UR]

My ds7 practices printing, cursive and typing regularly. dd4 does both cursive and print already too...she's begging to do typing, but I'm stalling her for now. The beauty of HSing is I don't have to choose between the 3. I choose ALL 3.;)

 

I think a nice professional cursive hand will be of great benefit someday. At the very least, it has been good therapy for slow to develop fine motor skills.

[SonshineLearner]

Teaching Cursive First is easiest. If anything is dropped, printing would be better to be dropped in my opinion. The only time you need it is to fill out forms.. and by then... really... printing is just dropping the connecting line between the letters. You don't need printing for school until labeling maps.

:)

[Halcyon]

 

Are you teaching your children to master both? I'm on the fence. It seems that quick, tidy printing and speedy, accurate typing would be sufficient in this day and age.

 

Yes, I am. I think that writing cursive, and even print for that matter, helps with a child's neural development (there are studies that attest to this). I also think that when writing, be it creative or formal essays, the act of putting pen to paper can be stimulating--erasing, re-writing, etc.

[Halcyon]

If anything is dropped, printing would be better to be dropped in my opinion.

:)

:iagree:

[Prairie~Phlox]

I do teach my children cursive, but my daughter is a lefty and prefers to print, she is 12. I hate writing and prefer to type when I can. When I do write, it's a cross between print and cursive. Really I think most people develop their own style of writing. I do not think they will physically write a lot when they are older, but will still know it. I don't even write a lot now except for a grocery list.

[DawnL]

My dd is still in PS, for now, and she has learned cursive. My nephew is in a neighboring school district, and he hasn't learned it at all.

[Mom0012]

I seriously doubt this is true. I have heard many stories of children who were struggling with printing that went on and did so much better with cursive. My son is one of them. He was never able to write fluenty in print, and was constantly makng reversals and erasing. Often, he would have to verbalize the sound of certain letters in order to figure out how to write it correctly.

 

With cursive, he is now truly fluent and it makes it so much easier for him to concentrate on getting his thoughts onto paper. I wish I had started him out in cursive from the beginning and then briefly taught him print later on. He will be learning to type as well though.

 

Lisa

 

...that manuscript writing (i.e. printing) was originally developed to help mentally retarded children learn to write because they could not manage cursive. Anyone know if this is really true?

[hsbaby]

I seriously doubt this is true. I have heard many stories of children who were struggling with printing that went on and did so much better with cursive. My son is one of them. He was never able to write fluenty in print, and was constantly makng reversals and erasing. Often, he would have to verbalize the sound of certain letters in order to figure out how to write it correctly.

 

With cursive, he is now truly fluent and it makes it so much easier for him to concentrate on getting his thoughts onto paper. I wish I had started him out in cursive from the beginning and then briefly taught him print later on. He will be learning to type as well though.

 

Lisa

 

 

Ohhh...I hope this is true with my son! His printing is terrible, but he is so excited to learn cursive! We are actually planning on starting next week:)

[Ester Maria]

When I went to school, we learned and used print in the first semester of the first grade, after that we passed onto cursive, and were expected to use that, even if most people's handwriting developed over the course of the years into some kind of mixed form of print and cursive.

 

With my daughters, I never actually taught them to print, of course they learned to read the big print letters first, but with regards to the actual writing, I only taught them cursive and they have to use it for all of their assignments.

 

I think the problem is that a lot of people confuse cursive with calligraphy - they're NOT necessarily synonymous. I wouldn't insist on serious calligraphy with children who are not artistically inclined, for example; but cursive is just a legitimate variant of the same script and as such it needs to be at least recognized (and deciphered easily), if not already used actively.

I never use print myself, unless when filling out some forms. I don't see my daughters using it much either. I also never taught them to print Hebrew, we also write cursive by default in Hebrew.

 

Regarding typing, they pretty much learned that on their own, without too much help from my side.

[EmilyK]

My kids' school teaches cursive starting in 3rd and 4th. I kind of wish they wouldn't - they start with Getty-duBay and then switch over to cursive. I think concentrating on italics would be better and more usuable in the long run. None of the adults in our family use cursive.

 

That said, I do want them to be able to read cursive!

[swellmomma]

As far as i know the schools out here still teach cursive. I am teaching it to my kids but not requiring it for all work. Once I feel they are proficient enough to stop the handwriting books, they will continue doing their copywork in cursive but that is it.

 

I was taught cursive in school but my writing is horrid. I have never been able to write in cursive neatly, in fact the longer I write it the messier it gets (so the last sentence in a paragraph is messier than the first). I write in a hybrid of printing and cursive and can do that relatively neatly, though slowing right down and printing is the only way to make my work completely neat. Even my signature is a basic cursive of my name I learned in grade 3, I just could not make my hands do what I wanted them to in that department.

 

I do plan on teaching both cursive and keyboarding. I bought typing instructor for kids for the kids to start in the fall and they will continue with their cursive workbooks at that time as well.

[Mermaid Mama]

I've never found cursive to be faster than printing. It seems like you spend a lot of time going back over lines that you've already made, and then there's the connecting of letters, which seems to waste even more time. The only time I write in cursive is when I sign my name, or if I remember to do it in greeting cards (for some reason, cursive seems more appropriate for those :tongue_smilie:).

 

That said, my kids learn cursive so they can read it, but it's also helped my ADHD kid with his handwriting (printing and cursive). I think cursive forces him to "stay within the lines" more, and it's almost impossible for him to do letter reversals, like he does with printing.

 

Printing is way faster for me, too!

I take my time with cursive and use it in cards or important/sentimental letters to loved ones.

[dangermom]

Kitchen table math has had quite a bit of discussion on this in the last couple of days. The two main links are here but there's more if you look around the last few days of entries.

 

Chemprof on handwriting

Handwriting part 2