My son just started second grade and all of the kids in his class are excited to learn to write in cursive. Never mind the fact that he is still trying to master printing - he can't wait to get started. The cursive begins after New Years, and we were informed that in third grade they are to write exclusively in cursive.
I haven't written anything in cursive in years - decades, maybe - and wonder if I'm ahead of my time or way behind. When I do write the old fashioned way (pen and paper) I always (and I rarely use the word always) print - signature excluded (and my signature is a big scribble - or so my wife says).
Seems to me that in this day of word processors, email and texting that the "art" of writing is fading fast. I am 99% certain that my son's first attempt at writing in cursive will be far better than any cursive I were to attempt,
My questions to you, my fellow Rainers are...
- Do you write the old fashioned way (pen and paper)?
- Do you write in cursive?
- Do you print?
- Does it matter?
If you print, like me, try writing something in cursive. Go ahead, right now - try it - I did (and now I am 100% certain that my son will write better in cursive than I do). Yes, it probably looks funny, but if you can't laugh at your own writing, what can you laugh at!
Personally I think the art of Cursive writing will become the domain of "Calligraphers." I am a "printer" and it is difficult to imagine totally losing that----but who knows.
Mine is a combo of print and cursive. Nothing cohesive most of the time. I combine some letters and not others. Most of the time, my cursive is really printed letters connected in some way...not the traditional cursive letters I might add. I always start me words with the printed version of the letter and go from there. Who really uses the cursive "I, G, or Z"??? Flashbacks are GREAT!
I am home schooling my 5th grade daughter this year, and we are working on cursive. My main motivation in this the day of keyboards is to have her be able to read it when she sees it. My mother writes in cursive as do many other people from that generation. Old family letters and historic documents are also in cursive. I think that it is important. I write in cursive most of the time, although I do not think that it resembles what my daughter is learning. I have morphed it into my own version.
How about caligraphy?! Things change but we will always have to write.
Writing in cursive on a daily basis is definitely becoming a lost art. Back in the day when people would correspond frequently, writing in cursive was probably along the lines of dabbing envelopes with perfume - just something to make the letter more sensory to the reader. These days, if we have to hand-write anything, it's usually some sort of important information that it's probably clearer to do in print anyway. Hope your son has fun with the cursive!
Rick
I do however occationally use Calligraphy but it is an art.
I can't remember when I've had to use cursive besides in elementary and some middle school. I don't think I could fluidly write in cursive the way I type on a keyboard.
Writing in cursive does seem to be a lost art, but I think personal handwritten thank you notes and other correspondence do look better in neat cursive. In such a tech age, though, it seems that cursive writing is just a piece of nostalgia.
I handwrite neither in print nor in cursive, but in italic -- for more information, see my web-site at http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com .
Your son (like other advocates of cursive style) needs to take into account that the fastest, clearest handwriters avoid cursive. Research shows that the highest-speed, highest-legibility handwriters join only some letters (making the very easiest joins and skipping the rest) and tend to use print-like (not cursive) shapes for those letters whose printed and cursive shapes notably disagree. Again, your son and you can learn more about this at http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com .
Kate Gladstone
handwriting instruction and remediation specialist
Founder of Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
Director of the World Handwriting Contest
Wow Kate gave some interesting info!! I think you are wright right Rick....it is becoming a lost art. I combine cursive and print togeather and use pen and paper everyday. I write notes in my notebook when people call so I don't forget what was said during the conversation.
I have to disagree with Shane. "We will always have to write". That's an interesting concept to think about. Will we always have to write? With PDA's, speech to text software, debit cards, computers, and every other technology I'm missing, I honestly think that I get away with not writing at all on a day to day basis. Other than my signature, I can't really think of anything that I have to write.
Rick, you hit the nail on the head. I was taught how to write cursive very early on in life when writing was an art form. It has stayed to me this day. I must say that my writing is better than my printing...
Hi Rick,
We were taught the "Palmer Method" of cursive writing. Being left handed I never mastered the art and more often then not printed my way thru life. My teacher in early grades moved up with her class four years in a row. She jokingly said to me one day, "I had to follow you to your higher grade, no one else can read your writing." Sadly, it was true. Now with computers and word processors, I use a handwriting script that produces a very nice document.
I send out many thank you notes during the year, and ALWAYS with pen & paper, and using cursive. In a world filled with e-mails and text messages, it's always nice to send out personalized notes. I get a very good response to my hand written mailings (yes, I even use "snail mail" for these notes).
Thank you all for your comments.
I see many of you think that cursive is a dying "art". I have been asking around the last few days and it seems that there is a bit of a generation gap when it comes to cursive vs. print. My mother and two aunts always write in cursive, as well as a few other people I've talked to from their generation.
I think this comes from the emphasis on cursive (and handwriting in general) that was more prevalent before technology. I'm guessing there may be a time when we won't have to write at all - not even our signature!
Again, thanks for participating - I just hope I don't have to demonstrate cursive to my son!
I print - other than to sign my name. I have had my children ask my why I never write in cursive. Honestly, I think I gave up cursive back in college - I can print much, much faster than I can write in cursive.
On a recent blog, I started on paper. I just couldn't get my thoughts down from the keyboard. I was shocked that looking at lined paper helped free my mind!
When I need to write, I simply choose "MyFont" on my computer and magically my writing appears. It's fine, fine, fine.
I write in a combination of cursive and print. Didn't give it much thought until now. But, yep, sure enough, no ryhme or reason! Some A's are printed, others are not....Should find out what my 10 year old neice is learning!
Just as an update, the cursive has started - a couple weeks ago, actually. They were a bit delayed because the teacher didn't think they were quite ready until now. I am really impressed (and pleasantly surprised) with my son's cursive. Much, much better than mine ever was.