My first assignment, Tyndall AFB, 1973: Required to fill out paperwork, and even though my mother used to compliment me on my handwriting, it became clear that no one could read my cursive back then.
It broke my mother’s heart, but for me, cursive ended in 1973.
No, we didn’t have texting. But we did have typewriters.
And on those (fill-in-the-blank) forms, I printed.
About the last thing we use cursive for is signing checks. But I haven’t signed a check in, what is it, five years now?
Every culture that wrote with ink evolved cursive for one simple reason: It’s faster than character-by-character writing. I suspect that eventually those deprived kids will realize they’ve been cheated by their schools.
I was taught cursive in grade school, but always had lousy handwriting. I gave it up and changed to printing in jr. high, and my writing is good enough to be a physician. Kids these days have little use for cursive, as they are typing (uh, ‘keyboarding’) all their assignments. Cursive writing is an anachronism, and is about as useful as buggy whips.
It’s just not very useful anymore, and school time is better spent on other things. A demonstration of this is the fact that we’re all communicating in typing on this comment section.
As for not being able to read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution: I read those in text, printed. I’m not sure about the Declaration – I may have worked my way through it – but I’ve certainly never read the entire Constitution in that old script. That would be pretty rough going, and I know cursive. And cursive changes anyway: the script of the 1700’s isn’t Palmer cursive, and I suspect that no one on this board can decipher the Elizabethan Secretary Hand. Scholars can read it.
You want us to teach cursive? Make it a testable area. We’re not going to spend time in class teaching it as long as you’re mandating testing on dozens of other areas.
Good-bye art, music, literature, speech, culture, PE, drama, and so on.
As an archivist who oversees boxes and boxes of letters written in cursive, it is disappointing that students sometimes have difficulty deciphering them … but at the same time, I have to admit that it’s about as relevant to modern life as being able to write cuneiform or German black letter. The only time I ever use cursive is when I have to sign my name. (And it’s always fun when this strip puts the opinions of an old white man in the mouth of a little Latina girl.)
I’m a southpaw. Going to school in the 1950’s was a nightmare. (Anybody remember those dip pens and inkwells?) I wasn’t allowed to use my dominant hand until high-school. As a result, my penmanship was (and is) atrocious. However, as an exercise in eye-hand coordination, in disciplining the mind to organize your thoughts, cursive writing still has benefits.
I’m old enough to have been taught cursive and used it all through school but I took up drafting in middle school and eventually architecture, both of which used block lettering so I got in the habit of printing most of the time. My cursive devolved into a hybrid of cursive and printing which was the best of both world – faster than printing and more legible. Of course, most of my writing is at a keyboard but i still take notes by hand and sketch free-hand with my own notes hand written.
I’ve found that taking notes while I am reading is the best way to remember things – those highlighters never helped me at all. Because I did much of my reading on a bus while commuting to work, I found printing to be a better choice in the long run. Bumps in the road really mess up a word written in cursive. Part of the problem is I never had great handwriting to begin with.
Cheapskate0 over 5 years ago
My first assignment, Tyndall AFB, 1973: Required to fill out paperwork, and even though my mother used to compliment me on my handwriting, it became clear that no one could read my cursive back then.
It broke my mother’s heart, but for me, cursive ended in 1973.
No, we didn’t have texting. But we did have typewriters.
And on those (fill-in-the-blank) forms, I printed.
About the last thing we use cursive for is signing checks. But I haven’t signed a check in, what is it, five years now?
pschearer Premium Member over 5 years ago
Every culture that wrote with ink evolved cursive for one simple reason: It’s faster than character-by-character writing. I suspect that eventually those deprived kids will realize they’ve been cheated by their schools.
whahoppened over 5 years ago
I was raised on cursive and can write well, but I’m getting slower at reading it. Lack of practice?
SeanT over 5 years ago
I was taught cursive in grade school, but always had lousy handwriting. I gave it up and changed to printing in jr. high, and my writing is good enough to be a physician. Kids these days have little use for cursive, as they are typing (uh, ‘keyboarding’) all their assignments. Cursive writing is an anachronism, and is about as useful as buggy whips.
Ignatz Premium Member over 5 years ago
It’s just not very useful anymore, and school time is better spent on other things. A demonstration of this is the fact that we’re all communicating in typing on this comment section.
As for not being able to read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution: I read those in text, printed. I’m not sure about the Declaration – I may have worked my way through it – but I’ve certainly never read the entire Constitution in that old script. That would be pretty rough going, and I know cursive. And cursive changes anyway: the script of the 1700’s isn’t Palmer cursive, and I suspect that no one on this board can decipher the Elizabethan Secretary Hand. Scholars can read it.
Darsan54 Premium Member over 5 years ago
My handwriting degenerated over the years so that I had to go back to printing. Then I learned how compose on the typewriter.
If your purpose is communication, then typing is your medium. I do not mourn the loss of cursive.
Durak Premium Member over 5 years ago
You want us to teach cursive? Make it a testable area. We’re not going to spend time in class teaching it as long as you’re mandating testing on dozens of other areas.
Good-bye art, music, literature, speech, culture, PE, drama, and so on.
Christopher Shea over 5 years ago
As an archivist who oversees boxes and boxes of letters written in cursive, it is disappointing that students sometimes have difficulty deciphering them … but at the same time, I have to admit that it’s about as relevant to modern life as being able to write cuneiform or German black letter. The only time I ever use cursive is when I have to sign my name. (And it’s always fun when this strip puts the opinions of an old white man in the mouth of a little Latina girl.)
Bookworm over 5 years ago
I’m a southpaw. Going to school in the 1950’s was a nightmare. (Anybody remember those dip pens and inkwells?) I wasn’t allowed to use my dominant hand until high-school. As a result, my penmanship was (and is) atrocious. However, as an exercise in eye-hand coordination, in disciplining the mind to organize your thoughts, cursive writing still has benefits.
guyjen2004 over 5 years ago
I’m old enough to have been taught cursive and used it all through school but I took up drafting in middle school and eventually architecture, both of which used block lettering so I got in the habit of printing most of the time. My cursive devolved into a hybrid of cursive and printing which was the best of both world – faster than printing and more legible. Of course, most of my writing is at a keyboard but i still take notes by hand and sketch free-hand with my own notes hand written.
Nantucket Premium Member over 5 years ago
I’ve found that taking notes while I am reading is the best way to remember things – those highlighters never helped me at all. Because I did much of my reading on a bus while commuting to work, I found printing to be a better choice in the long run. Bumps in the road really mess up a word written in cursive. Part of the problem is I never had great handwriting to begin with.
theotherther1 over 5 years ago
Sure, look classy at the expense of having anyone willing to interact with you. This little brat bugs me.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 5 years ago
Last that I heard they found that out about 5 years ago. Too bad they didn’t consult with me. Could have saved those children needless problems.