topic Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive in Community Chat

Stupid ? about teaching cursive

denisemb — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:42:12 GMT

I'm older than dirt, have no children/grandchildren, so I'm clueless.

I understand some schools no longer teach cursive, yet heard yesterday one district was bringing it back.

Do students that are not taught cursive at least learn how to write their signature, or is their signature printed also?

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

dex — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:47:23 GMT

@denisemb wrote:
I'm older than dirt, have no children/grandchildren, so I'm clueless.

I understand some schools no longer teach cursive, yet heard yesterday one district was bringing it back.

Do students that are not taught cursive at least learn how to write their signature, or is their signature printed also?

I don’t know but my son printed through high school and college.He can sign his name.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

september — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:47:27 GMT

I believe all students who don't learn general cursive skills are taught how to sign their names ( my kids learned it all in their schools)

but more and more, I'm signing my name with an e-sign signature.

and when I sign my name on a credit pad in a store...does that look anything like my actual signature? Not at all.

things are changing

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Carmie — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 06:12:30 GMT

The children and young adults that I know that were never taught cursive do not know how to write their signature. They also can't read cursive.

Many young teachers today do not know how to read or write cursive either. It seems most school work is done on a tablet. Even five year olds kmow their way around a keyboard.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Oznell — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:55:04 GMT

Good question, @denisemb -- I would think writing one's signature in cursive would at least still be taught? Luckily, my son's school fully taught him cursive, about a dozen years ago. But I've also heard that some other school districts have dispensed with that.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:55:11 GMT

Cursive is taught in our schools.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

bluetail fly — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 01:58:51 GMT

I didn't know this was a trend in education. My youngest granddaughter is 20 and learned cursive somewhere in elementary school, maybe 4th or 5th grade. Wonder who decided it was unnecessary, and why.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

likeitis — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:00:58 GMT

Denise, so glad you brought up this subject.

I have a Grandson in elementary school. Yes, the school system has decided not to teach cursive. I am going nuts about this matter. I can’t even believe that they don’t think that it is necessary to teach cursive!! Yes I know, computers, technology, yadda yadda.

So, my Grandson needed to sign his name on a check that someone had sent him. My daughter put the check on the table, he signed it all right. All in an unrecognizable scribble. Now my daughter went nuts. She very strongly went on to tell her son how important it is to have a signature that was legible. So she got out pen, pencil, and paper, and had him practice his signature. Over and over. From time to time she has him practice more...it has improved. But aI am still upset about the situation.

I worry about many of the things that students aren’t learning anymore in school.

I know how times are changing, but some of the things that aren’t being talked about or learned, are basics that the kids need to know IMO.

Ok, I feel a little better, ty for letting me release some stress here.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

hopi — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 19:09:14 GMT

Many schools have also stopped removing students for disruptive behaviors. Parents demands. Seems there is a large group pushing for stupid Americans.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Karie2022 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:04:32 GMT

I have teenagers, they can sign their names, but cannot read cursive...they also stopped taking spelling classes somewhere around 5th grade.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

faeriemoon — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:06:48 GMT

I don't think your question is stupid. I have wondered how people sign their names if they don't know how to write in cursive.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

bluetail fly — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:10:10 GMT

Maybe they will stop teaching math next. All kids have tablets or phones with calculators.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

proudlyfromNJ — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:13:16 GMT

@faeriemoon wrote:
I don't think your question is stupid. I have wondered how people sign their names if they don't know how to write in cursive.

@faeriemoon Cursive is not required for signatures.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Zaimee — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:18:48 GMT

When Common Core was adopted there was no standard for teaching cursive.

About 10 states added that in.

I taught 4/5 grade ELA (English/Language Arts) for many years in a gifted program and taught cursive in Miami, Florida.

But, sadly, as the older teachers retire, this may not continue.

In education, all the eggs are in one basket....the Standardized TEST.

This rules what is taught. No cursive on the test!

I retired in June.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

mac116 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:22:14 GMT

I am a retired 3rd grade teacher who taught cursive for 40 years. The kids were always so excited to learn, even though it was difficult for some of them to learn because of fine motor development. Toward the end of my career, it became difficult to find a text to use. Most were out of print. I think that it is a huge mistake not to continue to teach cursive, if only so that cursive can be READ in the future.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

occasionalrain — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:26:30 GMT

No reason for them to visit The National Archives in DC, they wouldn't be able to read any of the original documents found there. They're virtually illiterate.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

maximillian — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:23:23 GMT

Students in school districts near me do not know how to write in cursive; they are not being taught in school. I work in retail and have had the experience of young people NOT knowing how to sign their own names. I have also been told that students are not being taught to tell time on analog clocks or watches. They all use digital is the rationalization for that. Schools are being forced to teach skills such as "Shelter in place/active shooter" and of course computer and technology skills. So, there are only so many hours of instructional time in the school day, week, month and year; Schools are forced to prioritize and make choices on what matters and what to spend time on.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Josmad — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:24:40 GMT

My granddaughters are 11 and 13 and they were taught cursive. But my older granddaughter wanted to learn cursive so she started teaching herself before the school did.

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Mz iMac — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:26:25 GMT

A New Jersey bill would require schoolchildren to be taught cursive handwriting

Assemblywoman Angela McKnight has introduced a bill that would require elementary schools to teach kids how to read and write in the graceful, flowing loops taught to previous generations as a matter of course.

The bill was introduced in the state legislature last month and is heading to the education committee for review.

FULL article: copy/paste link--->cnn.com/2019/12/08/us/new-jersey-cursive-bill-trnd/index.html

Re: Stupid ? about teaching cursive

Icegoddess — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 02:36:01 GMT

And once we get a generation of people who can no longer read cursive they will have to trust the ones who can to properly transcribe cursive documents for them. How would they know if they are actually transcribing it correctly, or the way they would prefer that particular document to read? Of course, many, many adults out there believe that George Washington or Abraham Lincoln actually said that stuff on the memes that get passed around on social media, so we're pretty much on our way there.

I do genealogy, and not using DNA, so I have to read a lot of documents or census records written in old cursive which can be a lot different than the cursive we are accustomed to. I have found transcrption errors in many a census record. My older sister will not even look at census records, but lets me do that because she finds it too difficult to read.