Community Chat

[kze]

---

@mormel20 wrote:
I knew that schools no longer teach cursive. But l was amazed they can't sign their own names. I heard on the news that in the recent election the young voters could only print their names on the ballot because they we never taught to sign. Sad and a shame.

---

@mormel20 

I saw that.  The problem was the government signature on file like driver's license was in cursive but his mail-in ballot was printed.  They had quite a few like that and were trying to contact them.

[LTT1]

@songbird @mormel20 @sunshine45 @Goodie2shoes @Bri369 

I taught high school (2000-2014) and proctored for the PSAT.

When it came to the time for the students to sign the page that was the "honor code" one student did not know how to sign in cursive.

Think about when we are supposed to use cursive...legal documents, etc.

There was a flurry over this student's "deficit".

It was determined by the PTB that he could sign his form with an "X". 🤷‍♀️ 

[Q-Checker]

While it is not critical that children learn to write in cursive, it IS critical that they be able to read it. They will likely need to read many documents written in cursive during their lifetime and should be taught to read cursive. The advent of technology has greatly increased the demand for the "academic space," or classroom time, required to teach current and advancing technology. Since students presumably already have one skill for functional hand-written communication (print), there is a diminished need to use limited instructional time to learn cursive writing. There is also realistically much less need for hand-written communication in today's world. As an addendum, for those left-handers (and others) who feel challenged by writing cursive with the correct slant, there is no requirement that cursive be written with a slant.  Vertical cursive is legible and entirely acceptable. At one time, learning to use cursive writing was some sort of rite of "academic passage," which is no longer true. The point of writing is communication -- and legibility is all that matters in the end. A person who produces poorly formed letters in print will usually do the same when writing in cursive. There is a need to determine and remediate  basic handwriting difficulties in some individuals, no matter what type of letter is being produced. And a signature that is printed is still .... a signature. 

[Big Joanie]

A freind of mine showed me a card to her signed by her

gr. children .. 16 and 13 ... it was printed and even

showed my husband that even the printing looked

like 2nd grade writing .. I have heard of that due to

computer use .... I cound't believe it ....

[Sooner]

To me not being able to read or write cursive is simply illiterate.  We are just giving up on educating kids.  We pour more and more money in and the kids learn less and less. 

[beach-mom]

This is so sad. I'm glad my children came through before all of these changes happened. Well, DS was finishing when they started.

My late brother was left handed. A few of his teachers forced him to write with his right hand. Until the day he died (in his 20's) his handwriting was almost illegible. I'm glad they stopped that practice, but this problem might be even worse. 

[Shelbelle]

It is pitiful that my gr kids wont know how to sign their name, very very sad. 

[geezerette]

---

@beach-mom wrote:

This is so sad. I'm glad my children came through before all of these changes happened. Well, DS was finishing when they started.

My late brother was left handed. A few of his teachers forced him to write with his right hand. Until the day he died (in his 20's) his handwriting was almost illegible. I'm glad they stopped that practice, but this problem might be even worse. 

---

@beach-mom 

My grandmother did the same thing to my father.  She also tried to get my mother to force my toddler sister to switch to her right hand.  My mother would put a spoon in my sister's right hand and my sister would just put it back in her left hand and eat her food.🤣

[ROMARY]

Kind of sad that the youngsters 'down the line' (in their adult future) won't be able to read all of our / the handwritten notes and cards that were saved for the future family members to read and treasure.

Well, I guess by that time there will be some sort of interpretation gadgets available. 

Just 'swipe' the card or letter, and "wah-lah"!   

[JYWilliams]

It isn't in my area either. They stopped years ago. I know this young lady that is 21 years old that a family member of hers who is 79 years old sent her a letter written in cursive. She couldn't read it because she was never taught it in school. I had to read it to her.