I think so. I never write anything long hand, except my signature. I print everything. And with most kids using computers in school, , they should be taught touch-typing.

It's happening, and I think it's a big mistake. Only a handful will be able to decipher the records of the past (such as the journals, etc., that you mention). Even now, it's not all that easy to read the Declaration of Independence.

A college professor friend of mine told me many of his students can't read his handwritten notes in the margins of their papers. (And he has good handwriting.) He said a computer program has been developed to translate cursive into printing to solve this problem. Eeek!

I think kids need to be taught some form of writing. I'd prefer they keep cursive, but if not that then at least work on the printing. In a way, kids are going back to being illiterate. Schools teach phonics so the kids cannot spell. Many cannot read. Writing is not really emphasized beyond second grade. If you bother to talk to your kids at home and teach them anything of value, then they are the 'smart' kids. It is scary.

As much as we like it, I think its not really serving a purpose in todays world-except for signatures on contracts. I picture in the future kids taking cursive as an elective if they are interested. Heck kids aren't even graded on neatness anymore. Won't be long until everything for the most part is typed. I'm glad I know how to read and write cursive, but I guess its time to get with the times! The way I look at it now, kids learn cursive for maybe half of 3rd grade, then they never use it again! Teachers in 4th + prefer printed because its much easier for them to grade papers. So now my 2 younger kids (grade 7 and 9) wouldn't be able to write an essay in cursive-they don't remember the cursive from 3rd grade. Yes, I could teach them and reinforce it if they were interested I suppose, but what would they use it for? Instead of writing essays etc like we did, they create powerpoints.

Here's the problem. Kids learn to write at home from watching Sesame Street and parents and older siblings. Many if not most kids are writing cursive on their own before they arrive at the grade when it is taught. Teachers then have to get them to unlearn all the wrong ways they are writing (and printing in kindergarten) BEFORE they can teach them the right way. This is so time consuming, and kids resist so well, that they are deciding to concentrate on the subjects they must learn rather than un teaching to teach.

When parents choose to teach their toddlers to print and then to write cursive, they must instill the correct process from the beginning, as teachers did when learning to write was a classroom activity.

My own personal handwriting is half printing, half cursive. I learned cursive in school back in the early 90's and I can only remember one occasion when I've ever had to use it. It was a 9th grade essay that we had to send into the state for some sort of judgement and it had to be done in cursive. I remember having to concentrate to try to remember cursive from 3rd grade, haha.

I guess my point is that I think cursive is a thing of the past. I think in another 50 years there won't even be handwriting anymore, lol. We will just think something and it'll come out on a screen somewhere. :)

I think nostalgia for the past is normal but cursive is going to become one of those specialized things, like calligraphy is now. I think there are more important things to be focused on in the classroom, like typing or software.

I'll bet you're write Chi83. I'm sure in the future, people will have to take a class to learn how to write.....just like calligraphy now. I didn't even think of calligraphy.

No I do not think it should be dropped, if so then will they not be able to read the very important documents from the past for example the Deceleration of Independence, how sad would it be that our future generations would not have that ability. As it is now I have heard of children asking an adult to read an old letter that was in cursive because they did not have that knowledge. MORE knowledge is key NOT LESS.
Our forefathers Wrote everything and we look today upon those beautiful writings, they are treasures! Why on Earth would we think that would be ok to throw away. I simply do not get it. Knowledge is the most important thing we can hope to give to our future generations, not like they don't have the time to learn, just take away a game for an hour or two and sit them down and teach them something of value.

Writing checks is not a thing of the past for us and as long as I am able to hold a pen and write I will be doing that.

I don't think they need to spend all the time we spent on cursive, making each letter perfect, etc. They are digital people and won't be hand writing letters or anything in their lifetimes.

They should be taught how to read it, but maybe that could be done in a specialty class as an elective.

Well, to be fair, I studied cursive extensively in school and I still cannot read some of the historical documents. Modern cursive is VERY different from the cursive of centuries past.

I just think that with the amount of kids out there who can't even do basic math or sentence structure, trying to teach them historical cursive is a waste of resources. Like it or not, our society is evolving to a much faster paced world where necessary skills are constantly changing. You need to be able to do math. You don't need to write prettily.

History is a timeline of inventions that drastically chance our method of record-keeping. Inventions like the printing press, typewriters and now computers. All have given so much to the world that we know today and all require a change in skill set. Our forefathers did not use the same writing process as was in style 250 years before them. Things change.

There is definitely beauty in traditional cursive writing. I admire lovely handwriting. I do think it's a valuable skill to learn independently but the question is about schools teaching it. They are already stretched thin and basic skills are being neglected. There are more important things.

I do not think they should drop it. I just never print and I write a lot by hand. Love to type also, but just because I do one doesn't mean I can't do both. I am sure Alyssa will learn it even if it is from her parents.

Sue

I believe cursive writing to be a form of self expression and I consider it art. If taught correctly and practiced it can make the difference between something nicely done and gibberish. And I feel it instills a sense of pride also. When I was in school (long time ago) my writing was so perfect that whenever I turned in a term paper, I always got the highest grade. I like to think alot of my grade was based on my writing, as I always got the comment A+ , perfect handwriting. I dislike it very much that they are doing away ,yet again, with something that I think helps us to stand out as an individual.

Isn't it nice to come across something a deceased relative hand wrote?

I'm sure that even those who might have learned to read cursive, whether in school or elsewhere, would think my cursive somewhat accursed, as the lines of the letters seem to wander here and there in the process of being built.

My fingers seem to have become somewhat self-willed when it comes to writing!

Heck - I can hardly read my own signature ... but, then - there are a lot of other folks whose signatures I find it hard to read: wouldn't do for me to work in a bank!

Oh, what's that you say? That almost all of the banking is done by electronic transfer, these days??

Well! Isn't that a caution!

ole joyful

Absolutely not....we have a generation that doesn't talk to one another..they text...and now to think that they couldn't write would be an abomination.

Absolutely NOT! It is a skill that is not obsolete and I think they should still teach it.

Another thing that irks me is that there are hardly any geography classes anymore. I think it is SO important to know the basics of geograpy. My sister, when she was 16, pointed to a map and asked which is the state of New England?

That is just sad.

Yes, I think it should be dropped from the curriculum & the time spent on more useful subjects. As it is, the way my grandchildren are learning to print it is easily converted to cursive (many of their letters have a little "connector" stroke).

The old historical documents can't be read anyway. I just googled the Declaration of Independence... it's all faded & what you can see of the script isn't all that legible of handwriting. Then when you view a typed transcript ... we in the 21st century don't write or talk like this: We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.

My son is 38 & learned cursive but has always printed from high school onward. Has not held him back whatsoever in his career.

When I was in nursing school in the 60's we were ordered to PRINT on the medical record, because it was deemed to be more legible. Nowadays, in most places it is keyboarded.

So I think cursive is mainly a "nostalgia thing" that most kids can easily by-pass without harmful effects.

Sorry. I am old school when it comes to handwriting. It should taught! Maybe the schools should allow more freedom for personalized forms of writing. Everyone begins to form his personal touches as he developes his writing skills and I beleive that should be allowed. However, at the same time, I believe that everyone should be able to know and recognize the 'standard' form of the written alphabet. I was astonished when I met with a young gentleman, a freshman in high-school, who could not read my handwritting because he did not know cursive. (My handwritng is legible.)

Handwriting is an essential skill and holds the same atatus as basic arithmetic or grammar. Handwriting is still essential: Your official signature for one. Any legal documents requires your signature. Examples: Mortages, deeds, wills, driver licenses, hunting and fishing licenses, car ownership papars, loans, checks, thank you notes, invitation acceptance or rejection, appointment calendars, class notes, excuse notes, promisory notes, life insurance, other insurnaces, bank accounts, and affidavits.

Printed text requires a machine of some kind and an input device, usually a keyboard. An old fashioned typewriter does not require a power source other than your fingers, but who carries a typewritter around in his pocket? All modern text devices require a power source. The portable ones use cells or batteries. When the battery runs down, you are out of writing. Handwriting requires nothing more than a marking device and paper. Its very versatile. It can be created with very primitive materials; witness messages scratched on stone faces along the Oregon trail.

Check writing has not gone out of existence. I pay many bills by check and make withdrawals by check. At my bank, there is no charge for withdrawal by check, but there may be a charge if done by ATM depending on the ATM. Its an erroneous and haughty assumption to state that check writing is passe. That assuems tht everyone will be bill paying on-line and that requires a computer and an internet connection. Not everyone can afford these niceties nor is everyone up-to-speed on internet use.

Handwriting is yet essential. Should we ever fall into another 'Great Depression', computer ownership and internet access would fall due to economic necsssity; Handwriting would become a necsssity.

In parts of the world where there is no electric power, handwritng is the tool of the day. Permanent records are kept on printed or handwritten materials, not a digital storage device. Hard drives fail; thumb drives have a keep a alive cell and these will eventually fail. Digital storage is reliable only where iron clad backup procedures exists. Take away electric power and these systems go down. CDs and DVD offer somewhat good storage if of achival quality, but the data can fade on these too. Both are at the mercy of market whims. CDs are on the way out and in a few years, machines that read and...

They aren't talking about not teaching kids how to write as some here have alluded to. They will always have to know how to pick up a pen or pencil and write...what they are talking about is cursive writing. I don't know, I think you'd need to know how to read other people's letter and stuff so yes, I think they should keep teaching it...my gosh they are teaching them how to do everything else under the sun...why exclude something that's so basic?

Is cursive writing just writing as opposed to printing? I always distinguished them that way - "writing" is joining the letters together and a word being one stroke of the pen, so to speak. Printing is printing each letter separately.

If that's what we're talking about here, I just don't get it. As Jasdip says, printing takes much longer. I rarely print; most always write. I don't understand the logic, if there is any, of not teaching writing/cursive writing.

Maybe I'm just confused; if so, please someone correct me.

Cursive writing is "writing" SuzieQ. The formal letters, and flow of writing, joining the letters together. Not printing.

I loved it as a kid, and absolutely think it should stay. :)

Cursive means the linked together curly lined writing. They aren't talking about not teaching printing...what they mean is to ONLY teach printing. How would these kids be able to read a hand written note if they don't know how to write or aren't taught cursive? I'd say that almost all WOMEN write cursive and MOST MEN print. This is what I've observed.

How would we do handwriting analysis?

I live in a area where this topic is being proposed..

I am wondering what kind of long term effect it would have on the legal profession?

If you didn't know how to write in cursive, you would not have what is legally defined as your "Payroll signature".

How would you endorse checks, contracts or other legal matters?

I would be afraid to see what the lawyers will come up with on this one...probably about a 10,000 page document on what defines ones legal "Mark".......LOL

Haha, I don't know about anyone else but what started with a very neat, legible signature of mine has evolved into a quick scrawl in the store card machine. As long as you can scribble, you can sign your name these days. :) Plus they always ask for a printed version next to it since most signatures are hard to read.

Cursive writing is more difficult to read - more time consuming. They have done studies that prove this.

As long as you can sign your name in some form and do some kind of printing, why should we still use cursive?

For those of you who insist that a handwritten note is always best and most appropriate - how about a little patience for people who might struggle to write by hand? I have a neurological disorder called Essential Tremor; it makes my hands shake when I try to write (or do other things, like eating). Until I had surgery to treat this problem - and not everyone can have surgery - writing by hand was difficult/impossible. There are probably other challenges that can make a handwritten note difficult. How about just being grateful that someone sent you a note, even if it was written on a computer?

So if someone needs your signature on a document, what then? Just wondering.

Need a signature? Can't write cursive?

Get someone who writes cursive well ... get them to hold your hand and write/writhe out the required.

o j

A signature doesn't have to be legible - it just needs to be *yours*.

As for getting someone to write cursive for you - before my surgery my dh did most of my handwriting for me, or sometimes I'd ask someone else to do it for me - maybe an assistant in a medical office would help me fill out forms, etc. But asking for help isn't easy; some people with physical problems such as I have find it terribly mortifying. My aunt also had a tremor; as her physical condition worsened - she had ET even worse than I currently do (ET is progressive) - she sent Christmas cards with only her signature. Just signing her name was a horrible struggle for her, and she couldn't bring herself to ask for help.

Thing is - we may love to see a beautifully handwritten note, signature, or whatever, but not everyone can physically do that. And unless you know the person well, you may not be aware of the challenges (physical, etc) they face/hide. Unless you (generic "you"!) know someone with a challenge like Essential Tremor or Parkinson's, it's hard to fathom just how difficult handwriting can be, or how difficult it can be to ask for help. You wouldn't believe the insensitive comments I have heard about my handwriting problems (never mind the comments about my challenges eating - bah!).

I think this is demonstrative that we should be dropping the schools. They're not doing their job. They should be teaching the 3 "Rs" and not concentrating on sports, band, ski trips and the like. Teachers are more and more incompetent, are afraid to teach and/or refuse to teach. Dropping writing? No, drop the schools in that case. When the blender doesn't work and can't be fixed, do you drop the car? No, get rid of what doesn't work.

I think it should still be taught and students should be required to handwrite an essay that all can read When I was in one of the early grades in school I had the opportunity to skip a grade but my handwriting was so bad I missed the opportunity. (such as it was) I still have trouble reading my own notes to myself.

My mother had beautiful handwriting and when I pick up a note that she has written it is like she is in the room .

Will they stop teaching the alphabet too?

So what would you do about children who do not have the physical ability to write, minnie? Not allow them to progress in school because they cannot write legibly? Many children cannot be taught to write clearly, any more than a blind person can be taught to see. It just is not possible, yet many challenged children find it horribly embarrassing when people try to get them to write nicely (I know - I was one of those kids).

On a practical level - beautiful script and print was important before computers. Now not so much. If children have the ability to learn to write nicely by hand, that's wonderful. But some will not be able to write easily by hand. That isn't a character flaw, nor is it laziness. So - don't hassle those kids - if their poor handwriting is in fact caused by a physical/neurological problem, they will have enough hassles in life. :-( Teach them what they can learn!

Children who cannot write are given assistive devices and also someone to work with them. They may only "write in" in pictures. Different story.There is special funding for those children and they are respected for what they can do and also learning new ways communicate to us which takes time but they get there. They are not embarrassed but proud to have that connection.

Are we going to be the first country that gives up cursive writing? That is embarrasing to our already shattered school system.

I have seen competant and incompetant teachers. Even the best are overloaded with kids who cannot speak our language nor do the parents encourage it. If you want to debate a subject on communication that is the one.

Preserve what we have that is part of our culture.

Writing is also an important indicator in a child's motor skills. It is a brain to hand activity and assessed in detail.

I don't understand how this thread evolved from dropping formal cursive writing in schools into not teaching writing at all? Or not teaching the alphabet? Cursive is just a different visual representation of writing.

You can get along perfectly fine in life if you didn't learn cursive in elementary school. I can't think of a single instance where you have to use cursive in the real world. Even your signature doesn't have to be cursive as long as it's yours.

The question is about schools continuing to teach it with their limited resources and with most correspondence done electronically now. I never saw writing itself being in question.

That being said, it's still a valuable skill but I don't think that schools that are already stretched thin should have to teach it.

Ellie45 said it--it's a challenge physically and mentally to make the step from printing to cursive. It is not easy; it takes effort. It develops motor skills and thinking and for these reasons absolutely should be taught. Many children look forward to it and take great pride in their progress to write cursive. It's important that children see their own progress at school. I think it would be a "dumbing down" of our children's education to eliminate cursive writing instruction.

As a matter of fact, in schools where it is eliminated, I would not be surprised to see cursing writing being taught by tutoring companies or tutors themselves.