Curtains For Cursive

Curtains For Cursive




Monument


Cursive writing is dead.  And I’m not grieving.

Not one bit.

Granted it’s been a long, slow death.  For years, penmanship has been in a choke-hold of technology.  The keyboard putting the beat down on pen & paper.

I couldn’t be happier.




HandwritingToday, many states  don’t require kids to learn cursive.  In fact, some 46 states have adopted “Common Core Standards,”  a set of educational guidelines that do not include cursive writing as part of a school’s curriculum.

And I’m not losing a bit of sleep thinking about it!


My problem with cursive wasn’t so much about all the scripted squiggles—it was about how we were taught.


Cursive writing






I can’t tell you how many paragraphs we copied with painstaking precision.

It was tedious torture for a kid in the third grade.

I would labor over this piece of paper for what seemed like forever.  My tongue, poking out the side of my mouth, straining to get it perfect.

Then, proudly showing my finished work to the teacher….and she would only say…”Nope.  Do it again!”



Jam pencil


$#@&!!





I’m sorry, but this futile effort was a complete waste of my time as an eight-year-old.

Over and over and over we would try.

“No, not good enough!”  “Do it over!”  “Once again!”


Hand crampThe only way out was injury.

Oh God, to be put on the cursive disabled list!


All of that effort back then and I haven’t used cursive since.

In college I took notes (Yes, I did take notes) using a combo print & cursive.  For speed mainly.  But only I could decipher my own illegible code.

That’s  why I choose to print.


In the current age, university lectures are online.  And for note taking, students can type faster than they write anyway.

So cursive is the odd man out.

Spellcheck

Good riddance cursive.  May you rest in peace.


The end




6 Replies to “Curtains For Cursive”

  1. Unlike you, I mourn deeply! I loved cursive writing, and I would still be doing my grand flourishes if it weren’t for this stupid MS hand that won’t cooperate. RIP penmanship; you’ll be missed.

  3. Ah Muff, I knew you would be a friend of cursive..with your background in English & education!
    I know folks who have beautiful handwriting, but I’m not sure it is a skill worth the ink.

  4. I mourn deeply as well. Here in Canada, it’s dead as well. I am teaching my 8 year old granddaughter cursive writing. I think she is cursing behind my back, but someday, she will thank me…won’t she?

  5. Thoughts:
    What good are signatures without cursive handwriting? Do they all look the same now?
    How will we be able to identify doctors’ writing? ha
    I imagine eastern languages never had cursive – how do they sign their names?
    Handwritten letters and notes are already rare. I miss seeing envelopes and immediately knowing who the mail is from.
    Will no one have love letters and/or Dear John letters to keep?
    How will this affect graphology/handwriting analysis in solving crimes?

  6. Dear My Odd Sock, you don’t realize it but this particular post sent me spiraling into serious bouts of depression. I suppose I should be happy that cursive is out as my weak, tingly fingers make it totally eligible now. So why the sadness? Because I won an award in 3rd grade for my excellent penmanship! It was the only award I won until I was in my late thirties. I still have the paper declaring little Yvonne deSousa as best in cursive award- framed of course. How could MS so drastically destroy the only recognized talent I have ever had?? And now you tell me that talent is irrelevant? I can’t take it. I am going back to bed and worry about becoming irrelevant too.