Monday, January 26, 2009

How is your cursive handwriting?

I read an interesting article yesterday about cursive handwriting. It stated that cursive is a dying art. Apparently, children are still being taught cursive in public school, but it isn't expected of them to write in cursive after fourth grade. Many children, by the time they are in high school, prefer to write in print because it is faster and many students actually said they had FORGOTTEN how to write in cursive!!!

So how is YOUR cursive handwriting? How often do you write in cursive? Challenge yourself this week to write in cursive each time you need to write something! It may not be prettiest when you first start, but practice will definitely improve your handwriting!!!

Anyone up for the challenge?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

So true! When my brother was in college he needed to sign a slip at the bank to withdraw an investment for tuition. When they asked for his signature he printed it, but it didn't match the signature from when he had signed in sixth grade. They asked him to sign in cursive, and he couldn't remember how. I ended up having to write what the letters looked like on a piece of paper for him.

Anonymous said...

My cursive is so messy that I rarely write in it! It makes my signature great though. I'm up for the challenge.

~the Rural Canadian

Anonymous said...

I can't believe this, but then again...I can. NOONE even writes letters anymore! So sad....

Farrah said...

My 10 year old learned cursive in the 4th grade now they want him to type everything on the computer since that is what he will be doing most of his life. So sad!

Charree said...

A few years ago I started writing in cursive more. Now my usual handwriting is a mixture of 75% cursive and 25% print. My DH re-learned cursive this past fall because he had learned it in elementary school but then was never required to write it after that.

Have a great day!
~Charree

Designs on 47th Street said...

I hate to hear it won't be expected for children to use cursive in a few years. Heck, I still like the art of letter writing and I know that is out of vogue.

Your blog is great. I'll be back!

Donna

Melissa said...

It is interesting....most people don't know how to, or simply don't write in cursive.

I love writing in cursive. In fact, I have a hard time writing in print because I write in cursive so much!

My handwriting is sooo bad though, I wonder if it can be improved after all of these years?

Melissa :D

~Me said...

This is so true! And since I teach I know all about the cursive debate. It is taught because it has to be, but really inthe great scheme of things is it as important as Math? or Reading? probably not so it goes by the wayside....I'm betting that computers have a lot to do with it because we encourage typing so much!

Heather Anne said...

My husband daily deals with old old documents and the hand writing is incredible absolutely a lost art - and very hard to read until you grow accustomed to it! I print - except for my signature which is swirly and girly and really a mix of cursive and printing. I didn't learn cursive in school - in fact, I never knew the word 'cursive' until moving to the U.S. Writing was writing and printing was printing! When my dd was learning to write she said 'No wonder this is called cursive - it makes me want to curse - but I don't know the words!' She is doing better now - we love A Reason for Handwriting!
Maybe I will brush up on my cursive in my golden years ... right now I just have too much on my plate!

Anonymous said...

When I started practicing the art of handwriting ten years ago, my writing looked pathetic. although it isn't as lovely as a Victorian ladies fine hand, it is quite readable and not at all horrible not. I fixed it by practicing with quote and scripture verses every morning. I'm glad you are going to work on this.

Linda C said...

I have always been complimented on my penmanship and took great care to write neatly. I was also a teacher, so it came with the territory-- I taught both printing and cursive in our church school.

Unfortunately I have weakened muscles that affect the strength in my fingers and it has also affected my grip on a pen the last year. I have had to adjust to a different way to hold the pen and and use larger sized pens, which.

But I keep trying and still just sit down and practice to try to keep what I still have and try to exercise my hands and fingers:)

Good post- it is becoming a lost art.

Linda C

Secondhand Blessings said...

I do write in cursive most of the time, but it's not very pretty.
Actually, I sometimes will use both printing and cursive in the same word. I've done this since childhood.
I've always envied people with pretty cursive. (like my sister-in-law)
I've bought a calligraphy set and hope to improve my hand writing skills. It's embarressing to admit but my husband's calligraphy looked better than mine!
But as they say, practice makes perfect!

Debra from Bungalow said...

My handwriting always ends up sprawling, I think I just get lazy. I have noticed that many young folks prefer printing.

BTW, I added the banana cream pie
recipe

Hugs, DebraK

Kim said...

I write in cursive all the time...it is nicer looking...but I do know that it is sometimes forgotten by some. I homeschool and teach cursive in 3rd grade and they must practice it daily. I think it's important! also we teach writing a friendly letter, and practice it...in cursive...lol...

I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Hello Mrs. U!

I am really surprised to find that so many do not write in cursive anymore. I must have been living under a rock:)

I write in cursive for most everything, granted it isn't as fancy as what I learned in grade school, but it is neat and legible. I don't know about any of you, but I find it faster to write in cursive instead of printing.

Take Care,

Trixie
http://farmhomelife.blogspot.com/

Mrs. U said...

This ended up being such an interesting topic!!! Interesting how so many of us have noticed people (including ourselves) NOT writing in cursive!!

And Me, I think you are right. Handwriting falls by the wayside so that reading, math, etc, can take first place. Interesting!!

Keep working on your cursive this week, y'all! Mr. U just went to the grocery store for me (sweet man!!) and I gave him a short list written in my best cursive! Yes, I have LONG way to go, but at least he could read it! LOL!!

His,
Mrs. U

Thumperdd said...

Great post idea!

I'm guilty of no longer using cursive as much. My handwriting is a weird combination of cursive and print. Althought I hadn't considered it, my son only writes in print. He's 12 and says it's too hard...odd.

I remember my grandmother telling me stories from her childhood and how important handwriting was. She was forced to write with her right hand rather than her left so that the teachers could make sure the writing was perfect. They would slap her hand hard with a ruler if they caught her writing left handed. She said she often came home with welts on her hands until she learned right handed cursive properly.

This story was told to me when I realized that my grandmothers' handwriting was almost identical to her sisters and other friends of the same age range. Gran said that they'd spend almost an hour a day working on handwriting. She had a friend who was held back a grade due to her poor cursive.

Can you imagine??? Boy, we'd be in trouble!

Recently I worked with a man that went to the same grade school as my grandmother. He had the exact same flowery scroll. I wonder if they had the same teacher?

Danita

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Wow, interesting post! My handwriting is probably a mixture...seeing that chart brought back some memories of painfully copying those letters. I'd forgotten what the "Q" looked like. ;)

KateGladstone said...

How on Earth could teachers hope to make sure the writing was perfect by requiring a left-hander to do it with her wrong (right) hand?

That makes about as much sense as trying to make someone hear better by cutting out his ears.

And cursive itself doesn't even make that much sense -- Defenders of cursive should note that even signatures don't legally require cursive, and never have required it! (DOn't believe me on this one -- ask your lawyer! Anyone telling you that signatures require cursive for legal validity has misrepresented the law of the land.)

Another thing the idolators of cursive don't want you to know -- research shows that the fastest and clearest handwriters avoid cursive. Highest-speed, highest-legibility handwriters tend to join only some letters -- making the easiest joins, skipping the rest -- and to use print-like shapes of letters whose printed and cursive shapes "disagree."

For more info, see http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com .

Unknown said...

It been a long time since I've written in cursive.
I definitely need to practice!

Wenonah4th said...

I use mine all the time, although I've stylized a little (for example, my capitals A, M, & D are borrowed from the Russian way of handwriting). It's legible, neat, but not gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

So true! Now days, everybody has such sloppy handwriting.
I made up my own cursive-ish writing which I like and most everybody else does too. My sister can write really nice!

Anonymous said...

I'm only 15 years old and I write in cursive all the time despite the fact that it's slower. Few of my friends and a few of my teachers can't read it because they don't know what some letters look like in cursive. My handwritng is actually very neat, and I hate writing handwriten drafts for teachers becuase I have to print them.

The amusing thing is between the grades of 2 and 7 I learnt 8 types of cursive, one from every state in Australia and one from England. My handwriting is a combination of all of them.

Anonymous said...

Well im sixteen and everyone prints. I weekly change my handwriting. But i always love cursive and i am good at it. It seems though that when i write to long in cursive it gets messier quicker that print does. Also i so enjoy how lady-like cursive looks. It's so eliquent and delicate. My quest is what is to find mostly simple, pretty cursive, then i will adopt it.

Anonymous said...

Also, to the previous bloggers such as cherrytreelane, farrah, charree, and etc

i am sixteen and have been to a private school since birth and they taught me to write in cursive and we were not allowed to write in print until seventh grade, then we were allowed to choose print or cursive. Although sadly you are write cursive is becoming less and less used personally i use it all the time. Now i have switched to it, but by the way the write letters all the time. I am up to date and all with texting, emailing, etc... but i also write thank you cards for my birthday and holidays and i write to all family out of state and country and to all family friends. I really write probably once every week which isn't that much but still is more than most.

Farrah- that is sad that your son has to type all his stuff no only because that doesn't give him as much verity as knowing print, cursive, and tying, but also because i dunno it seems somehow wrong to stick a fourth grader in front of a computer to do his homework. Really half of the public school where i live don't even require that.

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