What Happened To Cursive Writing ?

[Asaase]

I don't think cursive writing was ever taught in Ghana. There is no cursive writing for our local languages and I do not think that I have ever seen anyone write English in cursive. Can anyone share with me the purpose of cursive writing?

[Krrizal]

I personally disliked cursive writing when it was taught in elementary school. I thought it hindered my creative capability to write in my own pattern and way. With the growing rise of technology, I think people should focus more on technological literacy and capability than cursive writing. It is a thing of the past and the future is already here.

[elenamarie]

It is a shame that I don't know if they abolished cursive writing here in the Philippines. I graduated from the university years ago so I am no longer up to date.  My handwriting is chicken scratch but I do know how to write in cursive. I remember when our teachers taught us how to write in cursive when I was in pre-school or kindergarten, that was so long ago when I was like 5 or 6 years old. We used this workbook we do everyday to practise our handwritings and we will be graded if we do it right. I hope there is a way to not abolish it because for me writing is a form of art.

[AureliaeLacrimae]

I had cursive writing in school, but that was way back. I may have been... first grade? Second? I think it was obligatory then, but I am not sure about today. I don't even remember my brother doing this, and he's just two years younger than me, so I guess it's no longer practiced. It wasn't strictly observed, though, just another one of those subjects which are no longer used after you finish them.

My grandma still writes in cursive when she wishes to show how calligraphy used to be important back in 1950s, when she was a young girl. It makes me feel ashamed of myself when I compare her beautiful handwriting to my scribbled notes for the classes.

[maryannballeras]

In my opinion, I think that cursive is still the most elegant and sophisticated way of writing, and we should not forget it. I admit that I "unlearned" it somehow, but now that I'm back to school, I'm trying to re-learn it. I think everyone should do so as well.

[ariana4]

I learned cursive in third grade. I use half cursive when writing in pen because it's faster

[NikkiDesrosiers]

While script writing is indeed a lost art -- you also have to take into consideration that when things are written in cursive they are not always easily read. Everyone has a different way of writing and this causes issues. Regular print -- while it can be messy for some is almost always easier to read than cursive.

[czarina84]

I think it is ridiculous that they remove cursive from schools, because they say they don't need to learn it.  Then they teach that new common core math that makes no sense to me.  I mean, I understand how to do it, but I have no idea why they need to convolute it.  I don't see how they can say that cursive is not relevant when there are many historical documents that are written in cursive. 

[XLS]

Cursive like calligraphy defines the art of penmanship, in my opinion.  Having gone to grade school both in America and the Caribbean, I noticed a vast difference in the way I was taught. Now as an adult with a Child I will say that the principles of education are soon becoming a thing of the past. Writing not only alleviates stress but is a form of expression. Thinking back to Calligraphy,  how beautiful it was to receive a letter or personalized item with a font that is now more often than not used through a computer program.  

Cursive on the other hand is used various times a week, did society forget we use cursive in our signatures for items such as contracts and signing of checks.  Why on earth would any department of education want to limit our children from their roots?  Technology may be a thing of the future but when will our children be taught the basics to use in the event where technology one day fails. 

[Nekomimi_mode]

I’m in America and they don’t teach it anymore either. They really should still teach it since a cursive signature is still required on many important documents. They updated the PSAT a couple of years back to add a clause that stated we wouldn’t try to cheat and we were required to sign it in cursive. Most of my class didn’t even know what the cursive letters looked like so my teacher had to draw them out on a whiteboard at the front of the class. I was homeschooled until third grade and I didn’t even know people had stopped writing in cursive until I hit public school in the eighth grade. Now whenever I go to start a new class I always ask my teacher if they can read cursive because I got into some trouble a while back when I wrote in cursive and my teacher couldn’t read it. 

[ancestraltongue]

I agree that cursive writing is become lost to time and it doesn't bother me a bit, lol! Sure it looks fancy but some people have such sloppy handwriting that you'd practically need a decoder wheel to know what they wrote. As was stated above, short hand makes taking notes easier and teachers are probably more focused on just trying to get today's kids to use proper grammar and speak good English. Although, if cursive writing is forgotten completely, what will happen when one needs to sign a check or sign their signature on a business form etc.?    

[OmniHead]

Most schools are not longer teaching cursive writing, and since you are discouraged to use cursive writing when filling out forms by hand, sadly this resource is being lost.

I learned cursive writing before anything else, and while i don't use it on a daily basis, I try to keep it up by writing a journal in cursive writing, which is by the way, a good option to add an extra layer to security when it comes to potential prying eyes.

Same way people is forgetting (or was not taught) cursive writing, most of them find difficult read whatever comes in cursive 

[capuchin]

I'm not sure if they still teach this where I'm from (Philippines) but I've always hated writing in cursive. Sure it can be great if it's done beautifully, but for the rest of us, it can be a pain. I've had trouble reading my own writing when I do cursive I can't imagine how it difficult it must have been for my teachers to read my essays. LOL.

 

[rz3300]

It certainly is a sad sight to see so many people not even knowing how to write in cursive, but then again I really do not enjoy it so I cannot blame anyone for not using it and then taking it further to the overall decline of the usage among the population.  I think that it is just being sped along too by the use of computers, but that is to be expected as well.  It will probably remain a dignified or unique way to write, though, and I do not think that will change anytime soon.

[sillylucy]

I remember when my teachers were always on me saying that cursive is the only way that adults write and if I didn't learn it then I would never be able to get a job as an adult. They put the fear in me! Now I never use cursive and when I do my boyfriend always asks me to read it because he says that he can't understand it. 

[Danili]

I lived my first few years in Bulgaria, where I think it's still taught, not sure though. All adults there know how to use it, and my parents seem surprised we weren't taught cursive in England. When I was in school in London, I think we might have had a few handwriting lessons, but they were more along the lines of this: 

I don't remember actual cursive writing lessons, because when I went to do my SAT and it prompted me to sign something in "cursive" I was like damn...and I tried my best but it looked horrible haha. Later I read forums online and nearly everyone was saying they didn't learn cursive in school. So I can assume English-speaking countries don't, or rarely, teach cursive. Or if they do obviously they don't do it well since no one can use it now. 

 

 

[LeesaJohnson]

Yes, I have learned cursive writing in my school days and according to me nowadays also students are learning cursive in their schools.

[kurdapia]

Cursive writing facilitates easy flow of hand movement and thus makes writing in this manner faster. I find it very helpful especially when I am trying to capture every word the teacher says during discussion. I could not do that with any form of hand writing other than cursive. 

[CosmicSeven]

I definitely remember being told I was going to need cursive for the rest of my life, and I definitely didn't even need it for highschool. I had 1 teacher that forced it on us and the rest nobody cared about. It is outdated and doesn't make sense to force on people for such little use. 

[reverserewind]

Well, in my native language it's kind of normal and even mandatory to write in cursive. However, I think that cursive writing leads to inability of understanding some people whose handwriting isn't much clear. That's why I prefer typing over that. It's always clear unless the sentences have no meaning.