real life signature question

[craftymama]

If cursive isn't being taught anymore, how are children learning to sign their names?  My oldest just has to sign a recital form for piano, which made me wonder.  We haven't done cursive yet, as I intentionally saved it as something to work on during the move in the hotel, but what about other kids who aren't learning it at all?

[K&Rs Mom]

 

Some of them aren't.  I know my 14yo nephew can't read cursive (bday card from grandma stumped him), don't know if he can sign his name.   Another friend said she had to wait behind a girl getting her driver's license while the mom walked her through signing her name on the form.  :blink:

[marbel]

I know quite a few people who don't teach cursive writing, but do teach their children how to sign their names, and how to read cursive.    Seems weird to wait till the kid is in the DMV line to teach it, but... 

[Arcadia]

My boys wanted to learn how to sign their names in cursive when they see my hubby signing cheques for HOA fees and me signing for liability forms for their classes.  So both know how to sign their names in cursive before school age but learn cursive in 3rd grade.

 

For kids kindergarten and younger, the forms allow the kids to just print their names as a form of signature.  Before kindergarten, they allowed parents to sign on their kids behalf.

[Ivey]

Ds19 has been working as a research assistant in the psychology department of his university this year. For one project, they tested high school students, and had each kid sign a consent form (there was also a parental consent form, so I'm not sure whether the student consent was actually ethically necessary). According to Ds, he specifically told each kid that they had to sign their name in cursive, and about half of them said "I forget how" or "I don't know how", but none of them said they'd never learned. When he told them to just do their best, most of them just printed their names, some scribbled a few letters and a few could actually write their names. So, even out of the kids who are taught cursive - I think schools around here teach it in 3rd grade - a lot forget it by the time they actually have to use it.  

 

[boscopup]

Many people don't use cursive to sign their names, or they use some hybrid form, or they just scribble. Um... I'm in the latter camp. :lol:

[craftymama]

Well no wonder people get impatient with me when I sign my name. 

 

Really, I was just curious because I have heard so many people say it isn't being taught. 

[Farrar]

I taught my kids to read cursive and they have their own scribbly signatures.  While I can see the benefits of cursive, they simply haven't been into it and it wasn't a hill to die on for me.

[Guest]

ds1 never learned cursive, but nobody questions the squiggly thing he does that starts with the capital of his first name.

 

I PLAN on teaching the caboose baby a fine, cursive hand but I WISH I had let it go a lot sooner with the olders. It isn't strange at all to them.

 

 

[IsabelC]

I don't think signatures have anything much to do with cursive. Most kids I know of start with their initial(s) and family name in any font they can do. Then when they want to feel more grown up, they design their signature by making it more scribbly.

 

And, slightly OT, did you know there are actually professional signature designers, where you tell them your name, choose what character attributes you wish to portray, and for a sizable fee, they create your signature.

 

FWIW, I love handwriting. I learnt three different styles in elementary school (I suspect our school was used to experiment with new fads), then taught myself another calligraphy script as a young adult. But nice writing is like nice piano playing. It's nice. It's fun. It can be admired. But it isn't essential, and one can lead a meaningful life without ever learning more than a basic legible hand. 

[Korrale]

Is there some rule that says that signatures need to be written in cursive?

 

I never learnt traditional American style cursive. Neither did any Queensland child born post 1980. We learnt a more italic style. However we were able to adapt and make signatures. Mine is based on my mothers more traditional style cursive. However, it is more scribble and illegible than that.

My cursive does not include my entire name. Just the initials of my first and muddle name and my surname. Just like my mum. No one has told me that I am doing it wrong.

Likewise I know a guy who always signs this weird elaborate x symbol no one has ever corrected him on his signatures. And no he does not have an X in his name.

[abba12]

Mum told me to do my initials with a scribble at the end the first time I had to sign something, lol

 

My grandma showed me how to write my name in old fashioned cursive and I copied it repeatedly until it was somewhat consistent and I use that now.

[ChrissySC]

According to the law ...

 

A signature may be handwritten, stamped, printed, engraved, photographed, or cut from on medium to another ... blah blah

 

With the onset of digital signatures and signing documents digitally, the law made revisions.

 

So, your answer, NO, it does not have to be in cursive.

 

However, should you teach it?  Oh yes ... it is as valuable to the brain as logic.

[IsabelC]

Cursive is great for brain development. But so are lots of other things. Like needlework (which my writing-averse son enjoys).

[swellmomma]

My teens have been learning cursive but still just print their signatures.  ds15s still looks like he is in 1st grade, he struggles with writing anything (yet it is not considered to be part of his LDs *eyeroll* ).  DDs is neater than his but she still prefers to print.  

[Heathermomster]

I don't know how kids are taught.  DS started cursive in third grade and can read it.  In our limited experience, we've only met homeschooled children that couldn't read cursive.  My kindie aged DD spontaneously started writing her first name in cursive. When I realized that she wasn't forming the characters properly, I taught her correct letter formation to stop bad habits before they set in.

[Erin]

Well this would explain the girl at the gas station the other day who commented on how "nice" my handwriting was on my check.

 

(Remember junior high?  The big, loopy script girls tend to have?  Yeah, well, I never outgrew that)

I've always thought I had terrible handwriting, particularly in light of the fact that I work in a sale barn office (lots of handwritten check, invoices, etc) with women 20-30 years older than I, who all have the lovely handwriting of those who were graded on it. 

[In2why]

I used to work for an attorney and was flabbergasted the first time I ever saw someone use and X on a legal document.  He was a man I had spoken to in length, a successful business owner, and he could not read or write.  He didn't seen embarrassed to have everything read and then a witness needed for his X, but I am still surprised he never learned a scribble of some kind for his signature. 

[Violet Crown]

Henry Kissinger's signature is a possible model for those who can't write in cursive:

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Henry_Kissinger_Signature.svg/301px-Henry_Kissinger_Signature.svg.png

 

It's surely handy for those electronic credit card signatures.

[raptor_dad]

Many people don't use cursive to sign their names, or they use some hybrid form, or they just scribble. Um... I'm in the latter camp. :lol:

 

I can write *very* fast in cursive, but noone but me can read it. I can write fast enough in a print/cursive hybrid. This is what I used on AP tests and in college. I never had teacher complain about this.

 

My signature is in cursive. It has become even more obscure over time. I have had occasions where government bureaucrats want a "legible signature". I patiently explain to them they can choose a legally valid signature or something "legible". They all bluster and roll their eyes but it has never been an issue. Signatures are foremost a unique identifying mark, legibility is secondary. A unique mark that is elegant and legible would be ideal but it isn't required.  My wife is an MD and those signatures are notorious. I'm not prescibing narcotics, so I see no reason to be held to a higher standard.

[Korrale]

My running writing it awkward and illegible. My hybrid version is also much faster and more legible.

The whole cursive thing has been a debate in my head for a long time. I didn't learn traditional cursive, and yes I struggle (as in I can't read swiftly) to read cursive. But I can manage. I was a history major and primary sources were important. Many written in some kind of cursive hand. And I still managed.

Primarily I want to be able to read my son's writing. If I can't read it I can't assess it. Secondly I agree that there are other things that can give the same brain building results. I can crochet, and knit, and do needlepoint with ease. I would much rather do those than to cursive.