Community Chat

[Marp]

Excerpted from abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/10-year-girl-born-hands-wins-national-handwriting/story?id=62551403

A 10-year-old girl born with no hands is this year's winner of a national handwriting competition.

Sara Hinesley, a third-grade student in Maryland, won the Nicholas Maxim Award in the 2019 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest. To be eligible for the Nicholas Maxim Award, a student must have a cognitive delay, or an intellectual, physical or developmental disability. A team of occupational therapists judged all of this year's entries.

"I felt excited and proud," Sara told "Good Morning America" about learning she won the award, which comes with a trophy and $500 in prize money as well as $500 in educational materials for her school.

Sara writes by gripping the pencil or pen with both of her arms. She loves to create art and sees writing cursive -- for which she won the award -- as an extension of art.

"Cursive is round and it's trying to connect [letters] so it’s art," she said.

[Sweet_Serenity]

When my DS and DIL heard no longer would cursive taught in school decided teaching my three Grandchildren themselves, went online course available printed out study sheets. spend allocated time practicing, the children, are enjoying the experience, I'm proud of,  DS and DIL, teaching them. 

[cherry]

Good for her. It makes me extra ashamed of my scrawl..I need to have a teacher,once again

[DrKelli]

I don't think my niece and nephew know cursive.  You need to know it because that's what your signature is! 

Sure, I hated it when I was learning it and my penmanship is kind of a mix of printing and cursive, but without it, you can't read historical documents or sign your name.

Sara has beautiful handwriting!

[Allegheny]

My mother kept our kept our school project papers from when we were being taught to write cursive.  I still have mine in the attic.

[Spurt]

@Marp 

Thank you for posting such an inspirational story....

I was signing my credit card receipt and the shop owner and I started talking cursive writing and how some schools are no longer teaching it.  But many legal transactions, IRS/tax documents, documents for medical insurance etc etc require a cursive signature, so what do these people do... ....He told me at his doctor's office how a college age patient could't sign a form...didnt know cursive writing....SAD!!!

[jonbon]

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@Spurt wrote:

@Marp 

Thank you for posting such an inspirational story....

I was signing my credit card receipt and the shop owner and I started talking cursive writing and how some schools are no longer teaching it.  But many legal transactions, IRS/tax documents, documents for medical insurance etc etc require a cursive signature, so what do these people do... ....He told me at his doctor's office how a college age patient could't sign a form...didnt know cursive writing....SAD!!!

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Those things require a signature. I know of no requirement, legal or otherwise, that that signature be in cursive. 

[Spurt]

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@jonbon wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

@Marp 

Thank you for posting such an inspirational story....

I was signing my credit card receipt and the shop owner and I started talking cursive writing and how some schools are no longer teaching it.  But many legal transactions, IRS/tax documents, documents for medical insurance etc etc require a cursive signature, so what do these people do... ....He told me at his doctor's office how a college age patient could't sign a form...didnt know cursive writing....SAD!!!

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Those things require a signature. I know of no requirement, legal or otherwise, that that signature be in cursive. 

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@jonbon 

So if there's a document and they tell you to print your name and then SIGN your name....and we're talking about pen and paper, not electronic... pray tell what does SIGN your name mean ????  emojis??? hieroglyphics???

Traditionally, signatures ARE in cursive. Certain documents can't be signed electronically. These include wills, adoption and divorce papers, court documents and eviction notices.

[viva923]

I remember when I was in grade school we would have penmanship class. the Nun would go around the class and take the pen or pencil what ever you were using out of the hand you were using. If you are hold pen correctly it is easy to remove the pen from the hand.

We are headed back to X marks your name when you have to sign documents for all the kids that was never taught how to write (cursively) write your name.

[jonbon]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@jonbon wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

@Marp 

Thank you for posting such an inspirational story....

I was signing my credit card receipt and the shop owner and I started talking cursive writing and how some schools are no longer teaching it.  But many legal transactions, IRS/tax documents, documents for medical insurance etc etc require a cursive signature, so what do these people do... ....He told me at his doctor's office how a college age patient could't sign a form...didnt know cursive writing....SAD!!!

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Those things require a signature. I know of no requirement, legal or otherwise, that that signature be in cursive. 

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@jonbon 

So if there's a document and they tell you to print your name and then SIGN your name....and we're talking about pen and paper, not electronic... pray tell what does SIGN your name mean ????  emojis??? hieroglyphics???

Traditionally, signatures ARE in cursive. Certain documents can't be signed electronically. These include wills, adoption and divorce papers, court documents and eviction notices.

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I can tell you from experience -- you print your name, then you print it again in the signature spot. Not too difficult. A signature is just the way you choose to sign your legal name. Definitions include "the name of a person written with his or her own hand" or "your name written by yourself, always in the same way, usually to show that something has been written or agreed by you." Is printing any less acceptable than the people who just scribble a line? You probably couldn't decipher my husband's signature if you tried, yet it's written in cursive.