Can your children write in cursive?

[havaneselover]

Did you miss the persons quote in my response? It was in reference to the comment made about laptops in college and not possibly needing to write in cursive anymore. Some schools are already having kids as early as elementary school doing all their work on a laptop. Cursive is going by the wayside and it will not be needed in the future. Schools aren't spending time on it because there is no need for it. The next thing to go will be lined paper and pencils.

From what I see on my screen, you only quoted me, so yes I guess I missed it. I'm still confused but no big deal.

I've been out of college for > 18 years, so I'm really not sure what's going on. I generally trust educators to know what my kids need to learn though so I assume there's a good reason they no longer spend time teaching it. If I were a stay at home mom, I probably would make sure my DS learned a little, but I'm not so this is not high on my priorities.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

The only thing I've written in cursive since middle school is my signature, but my friends' kids are still being required to learn it in school.

 

[cybrkitn]

I think I'm still confused as to why it's going away. I know people type these days, but signatures are still required when "signing" documents (legal and non-legal) as well as for packages from UPS, FedEx, etc. It's also needed for the shorthand that I learned (not Gregg or Pitman).

DS learned it in grade school and it's still used in the schools here. He came home this week with his syllabus from each of his classes for school. All of them except for two needed a signature from both the student and a parent/guardian. Even the school's Code of Conduct needed both DS's signature and mine.

 

[nugov2]

Didn't read the whole thread, but our school district teaches it and by fifth grade all formal assignments must be completed in cursive.

ETA we are a public school, we have laptops for our students and they do type many projects as well as create presentations with them, but they still are required to learn aND use cursive. I'm glad they do and am surprised so many do not. When I taught we taught cursive. Maybe it is state by state.

 

[cybrkitn]

I personally have ATROCIOUS handwriting so I would never, ever want to teach my kids to write the way I do.

LOL, so do I! I hate my handwriting as it still looks like a teenager's and not that of an adult. My son's handwriting (who is 13 btw), still looks like a he's in grade school. But he's slowly getting better (he does have ADHD and is a little slower in some things than most boys his age). I have noticed that it will resemble mine at times. Just like mine will sometimes resemble my mom's.

As far as note taking went in school, mine was always in script. Of course, that was back in the days before computers (1980's).

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

My oldest was taught in 3rd grade (public school) but the others were not taught in 3rd grade by the same teacher, it was removed from the curriculum. They were pulled out of public and put in Catholic school at various stages so the 2 younger did learn cursive in Catholic school.
However, DS14 didn't start there until mid way through 6th grade so one of the Sisters gave him a crash course in cursive after getting a lower grade from another teacher for printing (that took some explaining and help from the principal to get the grade back up).

Anyway, now it's become a problem in the public HS. DS14 had to write on the board and none of his classmates could read it. So he had to do it over again in print. He was actually kind of irritated that he had to write it all out again. But I told him he was guaranteed a job at Ancestry.com or something reading old documents.

 

[jen0610]

While both DS20 and DD18 can read and write cursive, the writing portion of it is not pretty AT ALL!!! They each got maybe 3 weeks of work in school back in 3rd grade on it. Now lots of work sheets were sent with them to work on at home, which they did but the effort was minimal, as they had other more pressing homework to do. And I can say, from the examples of the handwriting of their friends and fellow classmates, more often than not, they too have the same lackluster penmenship.

And it's not just the cursive either. Lots of the kids just flat out have horrible handwriting across both forms. It's a pretty bad example of what our school system expects from it students. I honestly don't know how some of the teachers know how to grade papers, it's so bad. Maybe because they deal with it day in and day out, they have become accustomed to it and are better able to read it than I am.

 

[pryncess527]

Did you miss the persons quote in my response? It was in reference to the comment made about laptops in college and not possibly needing to write in cursive anymore. Some schools are already having kids as early as elementary school doing all their work on a laptop. Cursive is going by the wayside and it will not be needed in the future. Schools aren't spending time on it because there is no need for it. The next thing to go will be lined paper and pencils.

Yes, and some college classrooms BAN the use of laptops in class. Just because elementary schools like it (where they can lock down the internet), does not mean colleges do (where we can't stop kids from being on Facebook while in class because it's a campus-wide wireless network). At least one of the posters who was quoted early in this confusing series of replied indicated her son had a medical condition and had to get special permission to be permitted to use a laptop for notes in class.

 

[sonnyjane]

I think I'm still confused as to why it's going away. I know people type these days, but signatures are still required when "signing" documents (legal and non-legal) as well as for packages from UPS, FedEx, etc.

SIGNATURES are required. CURSIVE signatures are not. A signature is just the unique way you write your name.

 

[pryncess527]

It bugs me that we think it should not be taught because it is a "waste of time" or "not needed" -- some things we do in school aren't about the actual act, but about the brain development and stimulation byproducts of the act. I mean, no one really "needs" to know how to spell anymore right, we all have spellcheck, yet few of us would suggest that's a waste of time. Why teach addition, just teach them how to use a calculator! Why ask them to learn facts, they can just look things up on the internet!

Evidence suggests that cursive helps the brain learn to integrate visual & tactile information. It helps fine motor dexterity. Areas of the brain associated with handwriting are also associated with cognition & language. Psychology studies have shown students learn better when taking handwritten notes instead of typing -- instead of the shallow transcription that often occurs when typing, students actually have to engage their brain to summarize/paraphrase, pull out keywords.

There are SO many reasons to value handwriting and the ability to write in cursive beyond the knowledge we can test on.

 

[deedeetoo]

It bugs me that we think it should not be taught because it is a "waste of time" or "not needed" -- some things we do in school aren't about the actual act, but about the brain development and stimulation byproducts of the act. I mean, no one really "needs" to know how to spell anymore right, we all have spellcheck, yet few of us would suggest that's a waste of time. Why teach addition, just teach them how to use a calculator! Why ask them to learn facts, they can just look things up on the internet!

Evidence suggests that cursive helps the brain learn to integrate visual & tactile information. It helps fine motor dexterity. Areas of the brain associated with handwriting are also associated with cognition & language. Psychology studies have shown students learn better when taking handwritten notes instead of typing -- instead of the shallow transcription that often occurs when typing, students actually have to engage their brain to summarize/paraphrase, pull out keywords.

There are SO many reasons to value handwriting and the ability to write in cursive beyond the knowledge we can test on.

So if learning cursive makes you smart maybe we should all study calligraphy and then we will turn into geniuses. Sorry but this sounds like a study that set out to prove cursive had some value. As for students learning better when taken handwritten notes - I don't know if that's true or not, but it's possible to take handwritten notes that are printed. Cursive isn't required for hand written notes. I have never in my life taken notes in cursive and I did pretty well in school.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Lol. Dis threads about kiddos never disappoint.

Glad I wasn't the only one.

 

[Mkrop]

Both of my boys 17 and 12 can read and write cursive and I am so glad they did/do. Both go/went to Catholic K-8 and everything was required to be in cursive and the teachers write in cursive for everything.

DS17 goes to a Catholic prep school that is a big feeder school for kids from all types of schools, there are many who were never taught cursive. One of his classmates asked to borrow his notes from class and he took one look at them and handed them back, he could not read them bc they were in cursive.

Also DS17 said there were MANY freaked out teens in the SATs who could not write their name in cursive. He has taken it twice so far and two rounds of subject tests and every time they have been asked to sign their name in cursive. One proctor brought a cursive writing guide and put it on the board. He said every time at least one kid says they dont know how, and they are told well figure it out and make it look like something other than print.

 

[cybrkitn]

SIGNATURES are required. CURSIVE signatures are not. A signature is just the unique way you write your name.

Maybe I'm missing something, but to me, they are one in the same. Cursive is script and what a signature is comprised of. That's why documents say "Print" and "Signature" on them. Yes, there are some people who have a unique way of signing their name. DH is one of them. But not everyone does.

Since so many things over the years have changed based on the times and technology, I went over to Wikipedia to look up what a signature is. Here's the link to what they have (and yes, cursive is listed as a form of a signature):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature

I have also noticed in the last few years, that there has been a very big generational shift in society as a whole. Things that my generation (Gen X) and before have grown up with are now lost on the newer generations. Times have changed dramatically due to rapid advancement of technology. Computers are such an intricate part of society now compared to the 80's and 90's. Things of old are becoming obsolete (like cursive/script) b/c of typing and texting.

But, I do agree with several previous posters. If the kids today do not know how to read and write in cursive/script, then historical documents and old family items, cannot be read and there by lost to society.

 

[sonnyjane]

Maybe I'm missing something, but to me, they are one in the same. Cursive is script and what a signature is comprised of. That's why documents say "Print" and "Signature" on them. Yes, there are some people who have a unique way of signing their name. DH is one of them. But not everyone does.

Since so many things over the years have changed based on the times and technology, I went over to Wikipedia to look up what a signature is. Here's the link to what they have (and yes, cursive is listed as a form of a signature):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature

That link that you provided also says that the letter X would be an acceptable signature. It doesn't have to be proper cursive. Documents frequently say print and signature, never print and cursive. Here's the definition of a signature:

noun
1.a person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

Nothing about it being in cursive.

None of these is my signature, but is similar to the way that myself and my friends sign our names. Essentially a scribble. Not legible. No need to know proper cursive. The below are all perfectly acceptable and legal signatures in any application.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/j.../master/Example/signature-letter-j-opengl.png
https://ravenambition.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/rick_riordan_signature.png
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net...gnature.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080703171144

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

The things I've written on the signature slip of my credit card receipts. Oh boy, good thing they never read them.

 

[aprilgail]

My 7th grader can but my 5th grader can't. They don't really teach it in 3rd grade anymore but sent sheets home to practice. DD practiced, DS didn't. I worry about note taking in college. Maybe it's all being done on laptops???

My 15 year old can just barely sign her name and she can't read it at all. Two years ago she had a teacher that insisted on writing notes on the board in script and continued to do it even after the kids said they couldn't understand it. I wrote an email to the head of the department and then she started printing for them.
If the teacher is writing notes on the white board all the kids just whip out their phones and take pictures of the notes, they don't write them. My daughter sends the pic to the printer and then she has all the notes printed out for her. Boy when I think back to how we had to copy notes!!!!

 

[cybrkitn]

That link that you provided also says that the letter X would be an acceptable signature. It doesn't have to be proper cursive. Documents frequently say print and signature, never print and cursive. Here's the definition of a signature:

noun
1.a person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

Nothing about it being in cursive.

None of these is my signature, but is similar to the way that myself and my friends sign our names. Essentially a scribble. Not legible. No need to know proper cursive. The below are all perfectly acceptable and legal signatures in any application.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/j.../master/Example/signature-letter-j-opengl.png
https://ravenambition.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/rick_riordan_signature.png
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net...gnature.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080703171144

Yes. That's why I said that cursive is "a form" of a signature. Meaning not the only one. However, in the links you provided, there is at least one letter in each one that is in cursive. My DH just uses the "J" in his first name in script while the rest is similar to those in the links you shared. I asked him why one day and he told me, "So that no one can copy it." Makes sense.

 

[Kathryn777]

I hate cursive. My 3rd grader (public school) learned it last year. But I never use it. My signature is a weird mix. I did 5 years of college /post grad taking notes by hand and never switched to it. Did just fine. I like them to be able to read it

 

[RedAngie]

Both daughters learned cursive in school. I don't think they use it much anymore, perhaps just for signatures, but they can understand it.