Cursive

[Katie M]

How many still use it? It was the bane of my school years, and I only use it for my signature now. Even then, its appearance is never consistent. It's best described as a scrawl.

Give me a keyboard any day.

 

[Kieka]

They are still teaching cursive at my nieces school, she’s in 4th grade. When I went through school it was a very short section, just enough to learn how to sign my name. But computers were just becoming something and the school seemed to think it was irrelevant. I remember my teacher saying we only needed to really be able to sign our names because in ten years no one would be handwriting anyways.

I am glad it’s back or at least better taught because I have real trouble reading cursive. My niece can read and write it better than me and you have the older generation who uses it fairly frequently. It’s made it really challenging when I’ve had to transcribe notes or type up something for directors or managers.

 

[betsygee]

I like the way cursive writing looks. My mom is 88 and still has beautiful handwriting. Mine wasn't that neat to begin with, though, and now I have arthritis in my thumb and wrist, so it's definitely turned into a scrawl. I use a keyboard 99% of the time. I'll print a note for a birthday card or something and add a note that I'm sorry it isn't handwritten and more personal but that they wouldn't be able to read it if I did write it out by hand.

My grandson is 9--I wonder if he's learning it at school. I'll have to ask him.

 

[Willowy]

I hate cursive with a burning fiery passion, lol. As a kid I sort of liked doing it, kind of like learning calligraphy for fun, but a lot of kids struggled with it and it all seemed so pointless. Not worth the teacher getting mad at kids and the kids feeling bad about themselves. As a Postal employee I hate it. VeryveryVERY few people have legible handwriting. Sometimes I can read it better if I hold it upside-down, for some reason.

My brother can't read cursive at all. We got the same education. Idk, I guess that's just the way his brain works.

 

[betsygee]

I hate cursive with a burning fiery passion, lol.

 

[Katie M]

I hate cursive with a burning fiery passion, lol. As a kid I sort of liked doing it, kind of like learning calligraphy for fun, but a lot of kids struggled with it and it all seemed so pointless. Not worth the teacher getting mad at kids and the kids feeling bad about themselves. As a Postal employee I hate it. VeryveryVERY few people have legible handwriting. Sometimes I can read it better if I hold it upside-down, for some reason.

My brother can't read cursive at all. We got the same education. Idk, I guess that's just the way his brain works.

Hello, kindred spirit

 

[DreamerRose]

I'm part of the "older generation," and I use cursive exclusively. It's much faster than printing, and it's impossible to get a card or short note through a printer. My son, DIL, and grandson all print. And for you postal workers, my cursive is quite readable. What's the point if no one can read it?

 

[Candybee]

I can't see how you can not use it at least occasionally. Its not just for writing your name but as DreamerRose pointed out its useful for writing personal notes, letters, postcards, etc.

Sure I mostly use a keyboard to do my writing for the majority of it.

But nothing beats the personal touch of handwriting for a number of social occasions.

Personally I would pity the person that doesn't know how to write in cursive.

 

[PMousse]

I taught myself cursive and love it. Since the age of computers and less and less handwriting, I've lost it a bit. Sad.

 

[jcat]

I very rarely use it, for a reason many here won't be familiar with. I was born and raised in the U.S. and used cursive there. However, I've spent most of my adult life in Germany and have found that most Germans have trouble deciphering my handwriting - they form their letters differently - so I print.

 

[Lari]

I learned cursive, but mostly print. I can write it and usually read it.

When I was a census worker in 2010 we had to fill everything out in block letters. When I was doing genealogy with my mom and looking at old censuses and ship logs and baptismal records I understood why. It's near impossible to read it after so long and a lot had been translated incorrectly into typing. And I normally can read cursive.it was just so tiny and so old.

 

[Willowy]

lot had been translated incorrectly into typing.

Yes! My parents sent away for my dad's birth certificate. The original is handwritten, but they updated everything and sent a typewritten form. It said his name is Daniel. His name is actually David. I can see how that happened---D, a, loopy v that looks like an n, i, loopy d that looks like e and l. I don't think they ever got that fixed, lol. Maybe his name is legally Daniel. . .

I've seen some lovely cursive handwriting. Unfortunately it's in the minority. A veryvery small minority.

I can't see how you can not use it at least occasionally. Its not just for writing your name but as DreamerRose pointed out its useful for writing personal notes, letters, postcards, etc.

I print for writing notes and letters and stuff . I know how to write in cursive but find it awkward and slow. I suppose it would become muscle memory if I used it more often.

 

[Katie M]

Yeah, I print for all that stuff too. I want people to be able to *read* it, after all

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I learned cursive writing as a child. That is what I do. Typing was taught in school then so I didn't have to learn the keyboard when computers became the thing. To me, nothing is sweeter or more personal than a handwritten note that arrives in the mail. It is a thing of the past. I received a graduation announcement yesterday from a nephews son who is graduating college this year. The envelope to us was addressed in printed letters. That hardly seems to go with "graduate." I know. I am from the old school.

 

[cheeser]

My mad cursive skillz went to hell in handbasket after years of having to take detailed patient histories. It got so bad, the doctors complained that they couldn't read my handwriting. So I started printing everything in block letters, and it just got to be a habit. Now about the only time I use cursive is when I need to sign my name.

 

[nansiludie]

I can write in cursive and I can read it. I have actually been wanting to learn calligraphy for some time but never got around to it.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My handwriting has always been on the messy side; but I use a mixture of cursive and manuscript. My kids are going to learn both. DD starts next year.

 

[Kimbers36]

I was taught way way back in the day, but when I try to use it now, it looks awful. Glad to hear it's still being taught in schools though! It can look super nice when it's crisp and clear.

 

[sabrinah]

I remember learning cursive. I HATED it. My teachers were always so picky about your letters being perfect and proportionate. I could never make a good capital "S" or "G," or a lowercase "b" and it still bugs me. For years and years I signed my name with a mix of print and cursive letters until I gave up and scribbled it. Once out of elementary school the teachers didn't want us using cursive because it made grading take them longer. We also got pushed really hard to become proficient typers, so the new focus became memorizing the keyboard and completing a stupid typing program with the keyboard fully covered. In high school, I believe cursive was also discouraged, except for the handful of people that only ever wrote in illegible cursive for some reason. I've never used cursive once since all that fun stuff. I can still read it and write it (a bit sloppy, still can't do S, G, or b).

 

[Boris Diamond]

We spent many hours practicing cursive when I was in school. I was never much good at it. My grandfather, on the other hand, had a signature that was a work of art!