CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader's signature.

"I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece of paper with her signature on it and it looks like a little kid's signature," Davis said.

Her daughter was apologetic, but explained that she hadn't been required to make the graceful loops and joined letters of cursive writing in years. That prompted a call to the school and another surprise.

West Virginia's largest school system teaches cursive, but only in the 3rd grade.

"It doesn't get quite the emphasis it did years ago, primarily because of all the technology skills we now teach," said Jane Roberts, assistant superintendent for elementary education in Kanawha County schools.

Davis' experience gets repeated every time parents, who recall their own hours of laborious cursive practice, learn that what used to be called "penmanship" is being shunted aside at schools across the country in favor of 21st century skills.

The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. In 2011, the writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress will require 8th and 11th graders to compose on computers, with 4th graders following in 2019.

"We need to make sure they'll be ready for what's going to happen in 2020 or 2030," said Katie Van Sluys, a professor at DePaul University and the president of the Whole Language Umbrella, a conference of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Handwriting is increasingly something people do only when they need to make a note to themselves rather than communicate with others, she said. Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.co...z0RgCsz5L1

I like how the parent didn't notice it until the 8th grade.

Did she not notice her daughter's signature when they signed greeting cards? (or do they send e-cards?)

Siiiiign
O' the times.

I've been teaching my girls cursive. I was so pissed to find out they don't require it or teach it (just in 3rd grade as in VA).

other than my signature, i can't remember the last time i've used cursive sent i learned it in 3rd grade

I was taught it in 3rd grade and encouraged to use it through the rest of elementary, but we learned word processing on the computer in grade 4 and most papers from then on were typed, not hand-written.

My hand-written notes from class ended up being printed, not in cursive, by middle school.

When I administer the SATs, there is a part on there where students are required to write- not print- a statement about authenticity.
The kids act like you ask them to pay you and give blood! They waste at least 15 minutes just complaining!
I have to literally write the whole alphabet- upper & lowercase on the board!

Also, I was in a meeting, and there was paperwork to be signed. The student didn't know how to sign her name in cursive, so I casually said I'd show her. Her mother started arguing with me that it wasn't necessary, that she could write an "X" and it would suffice. Again- it wasn't like I was asking for a pint of blood.

I think cursive writing is beautiful and fluid. I like to see things written by the old-school teachers in that perfect Zaner-Bloser.

Cinnie said:

i've always written in cursive still do to this day though no one but me can read it. so if i want to write i note to someone i print it.

Although it's a nice skill to have, I'm not sure it's required myself.
It won't be too far off in the future that even signatures won't be required anymore.

A sign of the times. Sure, there's some nostalgia around it, and I don't think it's a particularly hard skill to teach, but I'd much rather my kids bet taught future skills than something nice based on nostalgia.


I guess the verdict is out for me. I'm not terribly sad to see it go, but not terribly thrilled about it either.

Imago said:

I somewhat agree with your sentiment. I'm not devastated, as it's honestly not terribly important. But I am perhaps a bit more nostalgic insofar as I think a certain level of artistry and passing on of old-fashion, if outdated, skill somehow enriches us culturally... at least a wee bit. My kid learned cursive last year in Grade 2, and I was pleased to see it.

Lammastide said:

I can understand this.

But I think I'd be more please with my kids learning PHP, HTML, Java, or even just Office Automation skills.

Imago said:

Well, I guess ...as long as we're moving toward computers designed to accept frilly ghey hand-written input.

Lammastide said:

It's so much nicer to get a beautifully written card than a stupid ecard that you delete 5 seconds after you get it. It should be legible or else it defeats the whole purpose. Of course I dont use it every day but you should at least be able to do your name.

This thread confuses me. What exactly is meant by cursive? We never called it that at school. It's 'joined-up' handwriting? i.e. all handwriting? i.e. the way children write once they know how and how all adults write? Is this not true? I'm confused.

We're not talking calligraphy here are we.

Fauxie said:

Right. This stuff.

mynameisnotsusan said:

Do you mean a very particular way of doing it, or just any joined-up handwriting?

I never did punctuation in any special way, just learned to join up me letters.

This is called Zaner-Bloser cursive: http://www.rockwood.k12.m...ursive.htm

This is called D'Nealian cursive: http://magicoflearning.co...dncurs.jpg

(I used to teach elementary school )

i was taught the D'nealian

Fauxie said:

Yeah, I think the point of the original post is that kids are only taught 'joined up handwriting' in the 3rd grade (in the US anyway) and that's it.

I think the thing about it is you have your own style. I loved my Grandmothers and my Fathers writing. I liked the way my Mum would do her capital 'J'. I could recognise her writing anywhere.

Fauxie said:

Bitch, it's called CURSIVE!


And additionally, it's "FRENCH FRIES"--not chips, fool!

Imago said:

But they should be learning both.

ehuffnsd said:

Same. But the bottoms of the capital Ws weren't as rounded as I learned it.

My script is absolutely nothing like I learned in school, though. It's darned near graffiti at this point.

CarrieMpls said:

Why?

If it goes the way of calligraphy, than sure as Lame ass tide said, it's an art form and nice to teach, but is it essential?

I don't think it's time yet to discard cursive, but I can indeed envision a day that it becomes superfluous no matter how admirable an artform.



emoticon edit
[Edited 9/20/09 19:07pm]

Imago said:

You culture Nazi.

Imago said:

Because when zombies take over we're not going to have electricity and someone should be able to write down (legibly and beautifully) what's happening.

CarrieMpls said:

Imago said:

your face

CarrieMpls said:

You win.