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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > February > 23 > Entry
Death to cursive writing!
I hate cursive writing. It’s probably because I’m left handed.
Like most lefties, I was incorrectly taught the right-handed way to write in cursive. When you’re left-handed this results in an ink-splattered palm, smudged pages and clunky letters from forcing the pen left to right across the page in the wrong direction (as opposed the smooth glide of the right hand pulling the pen along from behind).
On the radio this morning, the DJ went on a tirade about how he long ago gave up cursive writing and finds other people’s cursive hard to read. I agree. Reading my father’s post cards can be like translating the Rosetta Stone.
A quick Google search produced some evidence that others also don’t see the point of cursive writing. At the No. 2 pencil blog Kimberly argued for cursive while highlighting a Detroit News story that says many schools have stopped teaching it.
I say good riddence. Let the kids spend their time leaning more useful skills.
Repord card after report card, I got “L” for “limited progress” in penmanship until around middle school when I just quit cursive altogether. That sometimes meant a couple points off for some teachers but it was worth it not to break my wrist.
Today, I take notes for a living and I print everything. It works just fine. The only thing I write in cursive is my signature and it is illegible to anyone but me.
But some think cursive is a high art that is being tragically lost. Where do you come down on cursive writing?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Rachael
March 2, 2006 12:56 PM | Link to this
I agree with the fact that cursive should be taught in schools but do not think that a lot of time should be spent over it. Whenever i got out of elementry school, teachers no longer required it, i haven’t used it since, except for a signature.By DoraMel
February 24, 2006 9:57 AM | Link to this
Scott, how do you print all of your notes?! That blows my mind … my illegible left-handed scrawl was the only thing that (halfway) saved me during on-the-spot interviews/press conferences/what not! (Plus, the bonus is no one could ever decipher my handwriting!) I think we should worry more about teaching kids keyboard skills early on. Typing was one of the only useful things I got out of high school; I type waaaaaaay faster than I can ever write. Does anyone else remember how they once taught the cursive Q to look more like a 2?By Martha
February 23, 2006 7:31 PM | Link to this
Thank goodness I entered school in 1963, a relatively enlightened time where lefties were not forced to be righty. If I take my time and endure actual pain, I can have beautiful handwriting. But as a writer by profession, my career would have never have happened without the keyboard. I’ve been composing on the keyboard exclusively since I was 17. One of my late father’s hobbies was ornamental penmanship, which required an oblique pen holder purchased through the Zaner-Bloser company in Columbus. I tried to learn but they didn’t make a left-handed model and all I did was blob the ink. I see cursive writing as something akin to calligraphy - an art form that isn’t for everyone.By Rev. Art
February 23, 2006 6:01 PM | Link to this
Take it from a right-hander who got plenty of one-on-one from the nuns (including raps on my knuckles with the wooden clicker)- I sweat bullets (small caliber) trying to write cursive. For all my diligence, fear and loathing, I was rewarded with D’s in penmanship. Yup, I was a consistent “D” writer who got “A“‘s on his English papers. Finally, somewhere around junior year at Chamitraz, I switched to block printing. It was not only legible - but, as I grew more accustommed to printing, I could finish my work in less time. A couple of times I’ve had to write a short bio-piece in cursive as part of an employment application process. It was horrible. My thoughts on paper resembled the erratic scribblings of someone with a psychiatric diagnosis. I don’t know how much weight employers give to those handwriting exercises - but I never got a second interview…By amy
February 23, 2006 1:08 PM | Link to this
I don’t understand the preoccupation with cursive writing in schools. It’s such a BIG DEAL — teachers tell students that “you’ll have to write this way in High School!” and make students feel like if they don’t learn it, they’re deficient. It’s the beginning of the end of many students’ love affair with writing, and I think that’s a shame.By heather
February 23, 2006 12:58 PM | Link to this
i can totally sympathize with you on that… in the 2nd grade when our teacher was trying to teach us cursive (in pencil) i simply refused to oblige and brought in erasable pens. to this day i still can’t write in cursive. and she never managed to answer my question why it was necessary, and why i had to do it in a scratchy #2 pencil.By Jamie
February 23, 2006 12:40 PM | Link to this
Cursive writing is as “yesterday” as hierogliphics… I dumped it long ago too, and I resented the trauma teacher put my children thru to make them conform this this antiquated system. If it is “high art” then put it in the museum.By Leslie
February 23, 2006 11:52 AM | Link to this
My son is learning cursive right now - he is the only left-handed student in his class. Since his teacher is also right-handed, she took the initiative to find a student in another class to work with him as a left-handed peer. I give her a lot of credit for this! (P.S. However, I print everything too. The only cursive I write is my signature!)By Mary
February 23, 2006 11:47 AM | Link to this
I mostly print instead of using cursive and account that to my engineering training in engineering drawing/drafting. Your frustration in cursive might have also been as a male, not just a leftie (boys supposedly have later development of fine motor skills for penmanship). I raised a leftie, brainy son and he had some problems with penmanship as well. As far as doing away with cursive altogether - I don’t know about that. How would we do signatures? With so much keyboarding, should we also do away with printing?