Our PS no longer covers curvsive. I feel like I should cover it! Would you?

[3littlekeets]

I homeschool oldest DS12, but DS8 and DD9 are in PS for now. I just found out that cursive is no longer covered in our county....no time! I think it is important, but DH thinks it is useless with computers, other than learning to sign their names. What do all of you think?

[regentrude]

I would still teach them because I find it much faster to write in cursive than print. Even with computers, handwriting still has its place (for instance when taking notes in college - at least in a class that involves equations or diagrams nobody is taking notes on the computer, not even for the "text" parts).

[Capt_Uhura]

If your kids are going to read primary source documents, they will at the least need to be able to read cursive. It's not that time intensive, I'd go ahead and teach them at least to familiarity.

[Renee in NC]

Yes, I will.

[FloridaLisa]

Yes, I did teach cursive. Surprise, surprise. One boy's handwriting is legible in cursive right off the starting block & faster than his illegible print.

 

Not an afterschooler, but chiming in. :001_smile: My older kids find use for cursive including thank you notes, handwritten letters (which believe it or not my older still prefers giving and receiving), and essays for the SAT and AP exams. It's neither difficult nor time consuming to teach. I think I'd rather err on teaching it now knowing dc will use it some but not most of the time, than not teaching it now and finding in 10 years that it's still a useful skill.

 

HTH,

Lisa

 

P.S. Interestingly, I also found my boys have beautiful cursive and not-so-great print.

[Tiramisu]

Our local school taught cursive in 3rd grade but never required the kids to use it afterward, so they forgot it. At least that was the case with my oldest. I tried to remediate later, but she's a lefty with some grip issues and it was causing too much stress for what it was worth. I am worried about things like the SAT essay and taking notes in college.

 

Since I now have one in ps again, I think I just have to make sure that she's using cursive in the future so she doesn't lose it.

[3littlekeets]

Thank you all! Off to find a ZB Cursive book!

[Hannah C.]

I was taught cursive in homeschool, and I agree with what pp's have said: it can make taking notes *much, much* easier. The college I attended had many professors who didn't want computers in the classroom at all, and cursive is faster for me to write in than print. Plus, I then had the option of switching between cursive and print for emphasis if I wanted. :)

 

The only other thing I use cursive for is journaling and the occasional letter or thank you note. But I really enjoy being able to use it for that as well - I think cursive is pretty.

[justamouse]

Yes. Why? This story is no joke. I have a friend out in WA whose kids were never taught cursive in school. Just not taught.

 

The navy reps came to the house to sign him up and ...kid couldn't sign his name in cursive. They actually had to come back after he learned to sign his signature.

 

I think cursive should e taught for many reasons, but at the *least* teach them how to sign their names.

[nono]

I find this development fascinating. When we were in school, we had to learn manuscript, cursive, and then when we were older, type our papers! So, why on earth is it now "too much" for students?? It isn't as if computers suddenly appeared, and before than we had nothing. Before that, we had typewriters! Portable even. ;) One for every home or college dorm.

 

Now, the percentage amount of time with each form will naturally change due to the ubiquity of small devices, but that alone doesn't negate the existence of cursive. :glare:

[Ibbygirl]

Wow. I never imagined losing cursive writing as a skill. :eek: I went to all public schools growing up (in the 70's and 80's) and I remember being taught print first and then in 2nd grade they introduced cursive perfecting it in 3rd grade by the time I got to 7th grade teachers wouldn't accept work that wasn't in cursive. I taught my dd that way in homeschool too.

 

I never imagined that the use of computers would impact the use of cursive writing. People still write even if they have a computer? Besides, how in the world will kids read Babar if they don't learn cursive?? :tongue_smilie:

[dakarimom5]

The only thing the ps taught my 7th grader was to write his name in cursive...they did that in 6th grade. My concern when I started hs this year is that, as a friend pointed out, he won't be able to read cursive. What if he got a job and couldn't read a memo written in cursive? So I am teaching him cursive and he's not happy but I think he will thank me for it later.

[hooahwife]

A while back I read somewhere that it wasn't until the 1930s that they started to teach children to print first; up until then all children were taught to write in cursive. I think it is a valid skill even now. As far as that goes, I wish I could remember my Gregg shorthand from highschool; that makes writing even faster and not many people know it!

[Guest momk2000]

Absolutely, I couldn't imagine not teaching cursive. :)

[Mom0012]

I am covering it. My son has had a lot of trouble writing and he was never able to become fluent in print, but he writes pretty darn nicely and fluently in cursive. If only I hadn't wasted 3 years teaching him print before we moved to cursive.

 

My daughter loves beautiful things, so she really enjoys cursive. Even if she didn't, I'd still have her learn it because I think it's faster than printing and I think that will come in handy when taking notes.

 

Lisa

[Disney Dreaming]

I'm not an afterschooler but it seems after reading the newspaper this morning that GA, along with 40 other states, may not be REQUIRED to teach cursive. Here is a quote from the local newspaper:

 

Cursive isn't a required standard for students in the new Common Core State Standards for English, which Georgia and 40 other states adopted last summer. Teachers and administrators from across the state will meet in March to decide whether to amend the standards and retain cursive writing, according to Matt Cardoza, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.

 

But many teachers say they simply don't have as much time to spend on cursive handwriting skills - and the stakes aren't as high because none of the standardized tests given to elementary students measure how well they can write in cursive.

 

"You try to squeeze handwriting in anywhere you can," said Lisa Lyles, who teaches third grade at Gaines Elementary School. "Unfortunately, the state has so many other standards that something like handwriting has gotten to the point where we don't have enough time in the day."

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I'm not an afterschooler but it seems after reading the newspaper this morning that GA, along with 40 other states, may not be REQUIRED to teach cursive. Here is a quote from the local newspaper:

 

Cursive isn't a required standard for students in the new Common Core State Standards for English, which Georgia and 40 other states adopted last summer. Teachers and administrators from across the state will meet in March to decide whether to amend the standards and retain cursive writing, according to Matt Cardoza, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.

 

But many teachers say they simply don't have as much time to spend on cursive handwriting skills - and the stakes aren't as high because none of the standardized tests given to elementary students measure how well they can write in cursive.

 

"You try to squeeze handwriting in anywhere you can," said Lisa Lyles, who teaches third grade at Gaines Elementary School. "Unfortunately, the state has so many other standards that something like handwriting has gotten to the point where we don't have enough time in the day."

 

It is sad that they will not do 10 minutes a day starting from Kindergarten or 1st grade on cursive since that is all it takes:glare:

[QueenCat]

My son is in college. A lot of his professors do NOT allow laptops in the classroom. Essay exams are handwritten. I find cursive easier on the hand for lengthy writing,and would highly encourage everyone to be able to do it. I am STUNNED that some schools have stopped teaching it.

[Caroline]

There was a story about this topic on the local news this evening.

 

My oldest two were taught cursive in school. I figure I'll just teach the younger ones at home if they don't get it at school.

[alamama]

Yes, I would. If for no other reason then it looks SO pretty on letters. ;)

[amsunshine]

Yes, especially to teach your kids how to read cursive writing. There are things in books, advertisements, cards, etc., that are written in cursive.

[Concerned Mom]

I homeschool oldest DS12, but DS8 and DD9 are in PS for now. I just found out that cursive is no longer covered in our county....no time! I think it is important, but DH thinks it is useless with computers, other than learning to sign their names. What do all of you think?

 

My son is in 3rd grade. His school does not teach cursive handwriting at all (yet it is 1% of his grade) although other schools in the district are doing it. This campus seems to be more focused on Reading and Math TAKS coming up in April as well as preparing them for the writing test in 4th grade. Texas is getting rid of TAKS and using something called STAARS, which is suppose to be more rigorous, but it is the same garbage like TAKS. What state do you live in?

By the way I purchased a daily cursive handwriting book. My son does a lesson in it 5 out of 7 days a week.

[jvenice]

I would absolutely teach it.

[Concerned Mom]

I'm not an afterschooler but it seems after reading the newspaper this morning that GA, along with 40 other states, may not be REQUIRED to teach cursive. Here is a quote from the local newspaper:

 

Cursive isn't a required standard for students in the new Common Core State Standards for English, which Georgia and 40 other states adopted last summer. Teachers and administrators from across the state will meet in March to decide whether to amend the standards and retain cursive writing, according to Matt Cardoza, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.

 

But many teachers say they simply don't have as much time to spend on cursive handwriting skills - and the stakes aren't as high because none of the standardized tests given to elementary students measure how well they can write in cursive.

 

"You try to squeeze handwriting in anywhere you can," said Lisa Lyles, who teaches third grade at Gaines Elementary School. "Unfortunately, the state has so many other standards that something like handwriting has gotten to the point where we don't have enough time in the day."

 

When did Georgia adopt the national standards? I read only 35 states did. Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee to name a few southern states did not.

[BabyBre]

Yes.

 

Because he was never taught cursive in public school, my ds17 can't read anything written in cursive handwriting, including my notes to him, his teacher's instructions on the board, his employer's or coworkers' messages to him... You get the idea.

 

Some may argue it's a small, insignificant handicap that's easy enough to work around, but it's an avoidable handicap, nonetheless.

[BabyBre]

I'm not an afterschooler but it seems after reading the newspaper this morning that GA, along with 40 other states, may not be REQUIRED to teach cursive. Here is a quote from the local newspaper:

 

Cursive isn't a required standard for students in the new Common Core State Standards for English, which Georgia and 40 other states adopted last summer.

 

 

Interesting you mention CCSS in this context. Washington state will surely adopt them, however, they are less rigorous than the state's current standards.

 

Interesting...

[Mabelen]

Interesting. I had really never thought about this. I was raised in Spain where cursive is taught first, much like Montessori schools in the US. I can't say I use cursive now at all; at some point in High School I decided I much better preffered print and can't say I have needed to use cursive ever since.

 

My oldest was in Montessori for Pre-k and Kindergarten so she learned cursive there although when she entered she was already reading print fluently but not writing. Her cursive handwriting was pretty poor so we worked at home on that. When we switched her to an independent school for first grade she had to learn to write in print and it turned out her print was much better than her cursive, so for my dd print was better and faster than cursive in terms of handwriting. This school did teach cursive in 3rd grade and my dd took to it easily.

 

My youngest is in first grade. I actually don't know if her public school will teach cursive. I will need to find out. She is learning to read cursive because there are a lot of children's books from Spain that I want her to be able to read by herself. I am using a couple of online programs for this purpose. Although they are also meant to teach cursive handwriting I am just using them to teach her to read cursive. I will definitely follow my dd's lead and let her learn to write in cursive if that's what she wants at some point but I will not require it of her if her school won't teach it.