[ARCHIVED THREAD] - cursive writing? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/22/2011 9:10:32 AM EDT
| Saw on the news that some schools are no longer teaching it. So how are the kids going to sign their names on checks and documents when they grow up? |
I was hoping |
They can print their names. Nothing says a “signature” has to be in cursive.
And cursive is a waste of time these days. Truth is, cursive was probably always a waste of time. Sure it can let you write down several pages faster than you can with printing. But it’s pretty hard to read, so what’s the point? If cursive was even moderately readable then everyone would use a cursive font on their PCs. Books would be printed in that font… and they aren’t. |
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Dude, did you hear they stopped teaching Latin! How are kids ever going to know how to correctly categorize a new species!! So you would rather waste time on them learning cursive just so they can sign documents, which a ok to do with regular old manuscript, instead of on math or other important skills? Most guys in my generation remember only how to sign their first initial followed by squiggles and then their last followed by more. So whats the point exactly? Cursive is dead and a waste of time. |
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Quoted:
So you would rather waste time on them learning cursive just so they can sign documents, which a ok to do with regular old manuscript, instead of on math or other important skills? Most guys in my generation remember only how to sign their first initial followed by squiggles and then their last followed by more. So whats the point exactly? Cursive is dead and a waste of time. Ha ha... this is exactly what I do. 
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My signature is a very distinct R followed by some shit you cant read that looks like I had a major seizure while I was signing it.
I was put through private school, K-1. Second grade was public school, and second grade in private school is when they began teaching handwriting "cursive". I went back to private 3rd-5th grade and was way behind the curve in handwriting. I could do it, but it always looked like hammered shit. Ahh the good old days, 4th grade, watching D-storm #1 on TV, having a crush on a hottie in 5th grade. Good times. |
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I got a long thank you card from someone the other. Beautiful cursive writing. Couldn't understand a single word of it.
Honestly, cursive is dead. It's pretty subjective even when taught, and it's hard to read. Its an archaic way of doing things and its time wasted that could be better spent teaching kids other things. |
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Besides signing my name, I never use cursive. I hate trying to read other peoples cursive. It's more like guess work and fill in the blank.
On a side note, I remember my grandmother being surprised that they weren't still teaching short hand when I was in school. |
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I abandoned cursive writing in high school... and my signature looks like shit. Same. That and now that I got involved in LE, I write everything but my signature in all Capitals. I think my hand writing has actually improved now that I'm in plain text and all capitals. Certainly look at what I used to do in cursive and it ALWAYS looked like a 3rd grader who was just learning. Hell, maybe my 3rd grade - 7th grade cursive was actually better and it degraded all that time through high school as I got progressively worse HATING to have to do that crap. Sadly, I get comments from girls about how nice my current hand writing looks. |
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I just remembered this.
I went to elementary school in a very rural area. The school was on a dirt road, and it had about 20 kids in each grade. The whole school upgraded to have a "computer lab" that consisted of 4 computers. The teacher would let 4 students go to the computer lab to play Oregon Trail while the rest of the class worked on cursive. I got really bored since it was obvious to me, even as a 5th grader, that we we just filling time. I used it to teach myself how to write cursive left handed. |
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Quoted: They can print their names. Nothing says a "signature” has to be in cursive. And cursive is a waste of time these days. Truth is, cursive was probably always a waste of time. Sure it can let you write down several pages faster than you can with printing. But it’s pretty hard to read, so what’s the point? If cursive was even moderately readable then everyone would use a cursive font on their PCs. Books would be printed in that font… and they aren’t. Cursive is easy to read to read if the writer practiced a lot. The generations before mine all spent countless hours in class practicing writing in cursive. Mine didn't and it looks like shit when I write in cursive. That's just teachers not wanting to spend the time doing their job properly imho |
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Cursive comes from a time when the aesthetic value of the medium was just as important as what was being said. We seem to be abandoning the good, true, and beautiful things of humanity in favor of what is quick, easy, profitable, and cheaper. kinds sounds like we are slipping into the dark side of human nature. PS, I went back to cursive writing five years ago after having printed exclusively for the last twenty-five. It takes lots of practice, makes me slow down, and requires more patience on my part, but it is a mark of excellence and character when you can write in neat, cursive handwriting. |
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Quoted: Cursive comes from a time when the aesthetic value of the medium was just as important as what was being said. We seem to be abandoning the good, true, and beautiful things of humanity in favor of what is quick, easy, profitable, and cheaper. kinds sounds like we are slipping into the dark side of human nature. PS, I went back to cursive writing five years ago after having printed exclusively for the last twenty-five. It takes lots of practice, makes me slow down, and requires more patience on my part, but it is a mark of excellence and character when you can write in neat, cursive handwriting. |
| The downfall was that D'Nealian crap they came up with in the '60s. That shit is like the progressive, modern, New Math version of penmanship. Now no one can write cursive. No one can read cursive either. Everyone writes in that shitty print with tails. Despite claims to the contrary, it's not neat or easy to read. It looks like the work of an 8 year old kid who needs more practice. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
They can print their names. Nothing says a "signature” has to be in cursive. And cursive is a waste of time these days. Truth is, cursive was probably always a waste of time. Sure it can let you write down several pages faster than you can with printing. But it’s pretty hard to read, so what’s the point? If cursive was even moderately readable then everyone would use a cursive font on their PCs. Books would be printed in that font… and they aren’t. Cursive is easy to read to read if the writer practiced a lot. The generations before mine all spent countless hours in class practicing writing in cursive. Mine didn't and it looks like shit when I write in cursive. That's just teachers not wanting to spend the time doing their job properly imho Seems like doing math would be a better use of time. Granted education in general sucks, but there are more important things to be doing for "countless hours" than learning how write pretty. |
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Quoted:
Dude, did you hear they stopped teaching Latin! How are kids ever going to know how to correctly categorize a new species!! So you would rather waste time on them learning cursive just so they can sign documents, which a ok to do with regular old manuscript, instead of on math or other important skills? Most guys in my generation remember only how to sign their first initial followed by squiggles and then their last followed by more. So whats the point exactly? Cursive is dead and a waste of time. 
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They can print their names. Nothing says a "signature” has to be in cursive. And cursive is a waste of time these days. Truth is, cursive was probably always a waste of time. Sure it can let you write down several pages faster than you can with printing. But it’s pretty hard to read, so what’s the point? If cursive was even moderately readable then everyone would use a cursive font on their PCs. Books would be printed in that font… and they aren’t. Cursive is easy to read to read if the writer practiced a lot. The generations before mine all spent countless hours in class practicing writing in cursive. Mine didn't and it looks like shit when I write in cursive. That's just teachers not wanting to spend the time doing their job properly imho Seems like doing math would be a better use of time. Granted education in general sucks, but there are more important things to be doing for "countless hours" than learning how write pretty. I dunno dude, I can't remember the last time I calculated the distance between two points on a parabolic graph. |
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Quoted:
I got a long thank you card from someone the other. Beautiful cursive writing. Couldn't understand a single word of it. Honestly, cursive is dead. It's pretty subjective even when taught, and it's hard to read. Its an archaic way of doing things and its time wasted that could be better spent teaching kids other things. Sounds like if I want something to remain under wraps I can write it in cursive and breathe easy. I have letters my grand father wrote from France in WWI. He was in the Medical Corp and wrote in tiny cursive, so I'm having a double dose of WTF in trying to decipher some of it. 
I had no idea it was a lost art. Anyone who thinks it's useless should price calligraphers these days. 
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The wife and I were sitting around the other day, bored as hell. I busted out a notepad and decided to try to remember the cursive alphabet. Couldn't do it. We were debating on how to do a capital cursive 'Z' when I said "Fuck this!" and turned on Pulp Fiction.We're 22 and learned this in elementary school. I don't use that shit at all. |