<p>IIRC, the SAT or the ACT (one of the two) asks you to copy the statement that they have IN CURSIVE. Has that changed?</p>
<p>I don’t understand why this is a big deal. Cursive isn’t difficult and doesn’t take long to learn. Just teach it to them when they’re young and they’ll at least be able to recognize it later on.</p>
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That’s a good example. I actually learned how to use a slide rule since I started studying engineering just as the first 4 function calculators became available and just before the first scientific calculators became available. I still have my old Post slide rule. However, shortly after I started to study engineering the first somewhat affordable scientific calculators (the HP-35 for $400 - you can see I remember this explicitly) became available and some members of the class were buying them. There was now a quandary in the courses - do they allow the person to use the calculator or do they force them to continue to use a slide rule and further, do they continue to actually teach the slide rule anymore? </p>
<p>The answer at first was that at first it depended on the prof - some didn’t care what tool (slide rule or calculator) was used but some were still stuck on the idea of the traditional use of the slide rule. Eventually even they ‘saw the handwriting on the wall’ and left it up to the students to use whichever tool they wanted and by the end virtually everyone was using calculators ($400 was too much for me so I bought a $250 TI SR-50 - the first competitor to the HP). They dropped the slide rule course since it was now superseded by technology that was more practical.</p>
<p>This is very similar to the cursive argument. Writing words with a pen is just the use of a tool to illustrate the words and cursive itself was just a technique to do that faster but newer technology has superseded that and due to its practicality it’s what most people use now.</p>
<p>I was the first of my friends to get a calculator, because I got one as a prize at a science fair. I felt pretty cool, lol. I grew up playing with slide rules, because my dad was an engineer. Never learned how to use it. They still had slide rule competitions when I was in high school, but they were dropped not long after that.</p>
<p>I wonder. Has anyone in this thread ever read the “Matched” series? One of the issues is that technology has replaced all written word (primarily so the government can monitor every single thing you do). </p>
<p>Do I think that’s going to happen? No, but I sincerely hope writing never goes away. That’s a terrifying thought to me and some seem to think that typing will take over every communication.</p>
<p>I think I need to understand the exact definition and expectation of cursive writing.
<p>One of the standard ways I’ve been taught to assist with memorization is to write out the answers. The latest case was when I took a medical terminology class - at an age when the brain fog and memory/hormonal issues have kicked in. When I was struggling with all the terms and the required correct spelling it was suggested that I write out each word 5 or more times. It helps with getting the stuff into the brain.</p>
<p>Both S and D were forced to hand write ( printing was okay) outlines of history texts…it was a learning tool. Typing does not have the same brain loop function as hand writing. Not teaching this skill (again, I know the question is directed at cursive) seems rather risky.</p>
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<p>You just print. </p>
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<p>Yeah, I remember that. I just printed it. It was never a problem.</p>
<p>What does it mean print? How did you learn to do so?</p>
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<p>Cursive writing is number 1 above. It’s not number 2. Every keyboard has both upper and lower case letters. I agree that all caps is difficult to read and it’s even become a way of virtually ‘shouting’ the message. Most people don’t type or print in all caps all the time.</p>
<p>I can’t think of ‘any’ occasion I’ve had a reasonable need to write in cursive in the last 40 years or so. I probably wrote people some letters in cursive way back when since there was no such thing as email, texting, etc. and I couldn’t afford a phone so I didn’t have one and a long distance call would have been too expensive anyway. It’s possible I wrote not using cursive but really can’t remember. </p>
<p>I have had occasion to ‘read’ cursive more recently although even that’s rare and is limited to the odd time I might want to read a letter a relative wrote 50 years ago or if I want to read a historical facsimile where someone wrote in cursive although that can be difficult given all of the different styles - just try to actually do this and you’ll see what I mean. However, ‘reading’ cursive is quite different than ‘writing’ cursive. It’s fairly obvious since it’s really just deformed and connected letters but writing in cursive takes ongoing practice in order to maintain it.</p>
<p>The fine motor skills in the hands are best developed to operate a keyboard and a mouse/pad concurrently. Even these skills are changing - watch a teen or young adult type on a smartphone compared to how most of us type on a smartphone. Their fingers are flying and of course they seem to get more than enough practice at it!</p>
<p>Cursive has gone the way of written, physically delivered office memos, which has been superseded by email, and longhand written copies of the bible, which Gutenberg took care of with the printing press.</p>
<p>So the issue is to teach kids the skill to make legible handwriting. Some kids print (even when the printed characters are big) but it’s still hard to read what they write. My son’s hand writing was very neat and easy to read. But my daughter had to take time to change her handwriting in middle school. Her lines were not straight and only contained a few words on each line.</p>
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<p>Write in print letters… You practice this in kindergarten and first grade… Maybe I’m not understanding your question.</p>
<p>People who don’t learn to write cursive don’t learn to read it, either, and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of valuable historical documents that haven’t been digitized.</p>
<p>^ I did not attend K1-12 schools in the US. I used to think print means all caps. Whenever I fill out a form that requires “print only” I always put all caps. But my son corrected me about this more than 10 years ago.
What I was not sure here is modern cursive vs. classic cursive. I thougt schools teach kids modern cursive. I just googled and found modern cursive topic.</p>
<p>[What</a> Learning Cursive Does for Your Brain | Psychology Today](<a href=“http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201303/what-learning-cursive-does-your-brain]What”>http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201303/what-learning-cursive-does-your-brain)</p>
<p>I agree with Massmomm.<br>
I have often wondered since the topic arose, about whether to teach cursive or not, if it will become a listed requirement for a history major like a second language is currently required at most schools.</p>
<p>People can write without writing in cursive. I don’t know anyone who writes in cursive anymore–not even the teachers. We all still manage to write essays using our own handwriting style. It has not affected us negatively.</p>
<p>@ Massmomm
Learning to read cursive isn’t that difficult; by the time the kids are old enough to need to read primary documents, they should be able to pick it up without instruction. It’s being able to write fluently in cursive that is more difficult–and useless–to learn. Elementary schools shouldn’t dedicate hours of valuable time teaching students as if they expect them to write extensively in cursive in the future; they won’t. It’s not a useful skill anymore.</p>
<p>@marybee
Many things are said to be beneficial for brain development, including learning to play an instrument. However, I don’t think schools should use class time to make it mandatory that all students learn to read and play music. Many of my peers did not go to an elementary school that taught cursive, and they are all fine students.</p>
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<p>This will affect a very small portion of people. For the same reason we don’t require everybody learn how to professional level plumbing, we shouldn’t require everybody learn cursive. If someone needs it for their studies or for their job they should of 'course learn it. But there are many things which are more important and more relevant to a greater number of people that we don’t teach in K-12 than cursive.</p>
<p>I’m surprised to see that this is even a serious question and dismayed that so many public schools have abandoned teaching cursive. How will people write thank you notes and notes on Christmas cards? Will they print like they did as first graders (please don’t say everyone emails, texts, or uses phone calls…not appropriate.) Certain things in adult life still require us to pick up a pen and write like an adult.</p>
<p>If cursive is no longer relevant then I guess people don’t need to know how to cook anymore, (after all there are drive-throughs and prepared take out in grocery stores)
know how to set the table (see take-out above), or change a tire. I know there are people who go through life not doing any of these things but IMO educated people shouldn’t settle for the lowest common denominator.</p>
<p>I’m really glad the Catholic schools haven’t abandoned teaching this skill. You never know when you may not have internet access or even electricity and need to communicate like a grown up.</p>
<p>ps. I know I sound like your grandma but I don’t care; she’s right about this one ;)</p>
<p>I think the best reason to learn cursive is so you can read old manuscripts and letters. That doesn’t strike me as a good enough reason frankly, since there’s no reason why one couldn’t pick it up later in life. That said, it is faster than printing and an argument could be made that until everyone has a laptop in the classroom, it’s a useful skill. </p>
<p>My kids practiced fairly regularly in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. Both have terrible handwriting anyway. I don’t think the older one writes longhand for anything but signing documents in his current life. </p>
<p>I was at a British international school and learned italics in 3rd grade. The next year I was in a one room school house taught by my mother and learned standard American cursive. I’ve always been artistic and enjoyed practicing many different styles of calligraphy. Ironically I write by hand all the time - mostly in cute little architectural capital letters.</p>