Is Cursive Writing Important?

[mother of faith]

Do you think cursive writing is important?
Do you teach cursive writing?
Does your public school enforce cursive writing?

Here are some websites to view...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/us/28cursive.html
http://blog.childandfamilydevelopment.com/blog/sensory-integration-through-play/why-cursive-writing-is-still-important
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-23-cursive-handwriting_N.htm

What do you think?

[TracyR4]

I haven't read the articles you posted yet.  But , yes I do think that cursive writing is important and its becoming a lost art amongst the computer age. Typing and texting has become more important than writing by hand.

To me having taught my girls at home for some time I learned that cusive is easier for a child to learn. My mother in law shared with me that when they were in school you were only taught cursive. They didn't learn to print until much later on in life.  So it wasn't unsual for cursive to be taught to 1st graders ( there wasn't a prek or k back then). Even today I've seen preschoolers learn cursive and I've also found that the cursive stroke is much, much easier to teach a young child than the stick and ball (print) approach.

My oldest struggled with printing terribly. Her handwriting was horribly intelligible to read. It wasn't until she was 6 when I was searching for something for her that someone suggested cursive.  That absolutely did the trick. Not only did it help her hand eye cordination but it also helped her printing. When we went back to printing it was actually a hundred times better! Not perfect but a hundred times better  than what we started with.
I've noticed the same with my 4th grader. Her cursive has really improved this year so when she prints its much, much neater this year.

Those of course are just my thoughts. I much prefer to write in cursive when I can. Its much quicker to write in cursive than it is to print.

[waterdreamer]

It's sad that cursive writing is becoming a dieing art. To be honest, I print, I don't hand-write. I regret not sticking to handwriting. I'm actually thinking of doing some copy work myself to get back into cursive.
I've decided I would like my son to start learning cursive in Grade 1. I'm putting him through k-2 Handwriting without Tears this summer, and then after that we are going to introduce cursive. I found it said when I tell people he's going to learn cursive soon they say "Why bother, their not teaching that in school." Cursive writing is a language in its own. I personally think its so important for my son to learn.

[2010BEBES]

For me too is better to write in cursive than 'letra imprenta'. I do not know if it is because we were taught that way from school. Later on, 25 yrrs ago they started cursive only when the child was in 3rd grade.
But in Peru, where i live, nowadays they are teaching children to write with cursive from the beginning. Maybe they realized it is much easier this way. And by starting at the earliest age, i think they can acquire a better handwritting.
I hope they never change it again.

[krb]

I am just curious, because I am from a generation that writes in cursive, but how do people write their signatures if they don't handwrite in cursive? Do you really just print your name when signing contracts? Do young authors, celebs and athletes print their autographs on memorablia and books?

[mother of faith]

Here in KY cursive writing is a process, we start with block print, then slant print, then cursive, by grade 5 cursive writing is mastered and mandatory in most of the schools. You would not believe the children who use both cursive and print together. It is very hard to read. Maybe that is why they are confused about which style to use? Some say it doesn't matter, some say it does. However, I do believe that some children are better off with one or the other, and then sometimes there are some that can't even master either one, and that is where bingo markers come in handy and or stamps.
Thaks for all of the input.

[c4andy20]

I am just curious, because I am from a generation that writes in cursive, but how do people write their signatures if they don't handwrite in cursive? Do you really just print your name when signing contracts? Do young authors, celebs and athletes print their autographs on memorablia and books?

I have worked in retail for many years and in that time I have had to check many signatures (credit cards, checks, money orders, etc...). Sadly many young people "sign" their name in print! Anybody could forge their signature because it is usually basic print and looks like a child did it. It is very sad that cursive handwriting is a dying art because it is no longer emphasized in schools like it used to be.

[Krista G]

I feel that cursive writing is important to learn because it is a faster way to write.  The question should be is print necessary to master?  I just purchased some cursive books to teach my 4 year old.  This is the earliest I have introduced cursive to my children but she is picking it up quickly. She already has beautiful printing and she is transferring this over to her cursive.  She is very excited about and has learned 5 letters in the last 3 days.  Whether or not it is dying, I will teach my children to read properly, speak properly and write properly.  Our society is so poorly trained in language that we speak incorrect grammar all day long.  As I correct my children they tell that it sounds weird.  Imagine! speaking our language properly sounds weird.  Who would ever think that could happen?

[hypatia]

I believe print is used in anglo-saxon countries, I encountered this writing while in the US, UK or Australia. I believe in Europe and South America only cursive is being used.

[mother of faith]

Good info! I didn't think about other countries, good points. I homeschool several children with the co-op and I see it more and more where teenagers have horrible writing. I can't read it, so if I can't read it then their employers will not be able to either, of course they can text about 1000 words a minute versus handwriting, maybe it is a dying art. back when I was a child handwriting was very important, it told the world a little about yourself. Thanks for all of the replies.

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