Handwriting in school!!!?

Question

I was just reading this article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001475.html?referrer=email) What it's saying is, they don't teach kids how to write in cursive as much as they us. I'm 34 and I can write in cursive and I can type so why can't they teach these kids how to write? I'm appalled at this article! Our children won't be able to read WWI or WWII letters that were written home by the soldiers, they won't be able to read the original documents written in history. What has our educators come to? If you don't want to help our children, then why be a teacher?

Answer 1

As a teacher, I do all I can to get my students to write. I always including written essay questions on my tests. IT is amazing how many of them can not read my writing when i use Cursive on the board. It is also sad that we no longer expect them to be able to work out math problems without a calculator and we now allow those who struggle with reading to listen to books and not learn to read them. It is hard work to teach. If you are not a teacher you have no idea how difficult of a job it is. It takes heart, patience, diligence, empathy, intelligence, knowledge, and TIME. I spend sometimes 80 hours a week between being in class teaching and being at home ignoring my family so I can plan 'fun' things for students to do. Today, education has become a game of enjoyment. You have to give the students a "dog and pony show" and make sure they are having fun doing their work or administrators and parents get all pissy with you. More and more students are being classified as special education because they didnot learn to read at an early age and now, in middle school, they are reading at a 1st grade level. How do I as a 7th grade teacher, teach 7th grade material when the student can not read the textbook written at a 5th grade level?

I also want to address something said in an earlier post. The writer said: "It's a mechanical assembly line that's churning out dummies according to some liberal, socialized agenda and they don't care." I find this quite funny that someone thinks this is a liberal, socialized agenda. The reason that is funny is because the current state of education can be attributed to the No Child Left Behind legislation that was George W. Bush's brainchild. NCLB was written by and introduced by Bush and Bush's education secretary Rod Paige (early days). So, by calling the current state of education a product of liberal socialistic ideals means you are saying Bush and his administration are liberal socialists. How funny is that?

No Child Left Behind is quickly destroying our education system. The strides made in the 1990's to assist and improve education have all but been undone by thousands of pages of rules and regulations. Federal intervention in Education, historically a state institution, has begun a downward trend in the education of American students. It is not simply a matter of now seeing the problems better it is a problem of not having the tools and resources to succeed. There is definate disparity between school districts and states. Unfortunately, Bush seems to be wanting to lead the United States into an era of centralized education. The nations that have centralized education produce many good students but their education system is inherently different. Their education systems are overseen by a "ministry" of education. A federal level school oversight committee that is hands-on and very much unlike our department of education. The local units in these countries simply do hiring of teachers and manage the budget (purchasing the state approved books, etc.). I think this is a VERY dangerous thing. If you limit yourself to two or three textbooks for a subject, you limit the scope of what students can learn about. Anyways....I harp on about something that only teachers and other educators understand.

I hope my point has been made...

Answer 2

here we go then, I’m from Britain and so I guess our educational syllabus is slightly different to yours, I don't recall ever being taught how to write in cursive hand but when studying history in high school it NEVER stopped me from reading things like letters home from world war 1 or 2. I do remember when I was younger my great grandfather was going through some letters he wrote (he was in the desert rats) and I remember thinking "wow look at your handwriting"
But the thing is just because they may be stopping teaching cursive I don't see how they could possibly stop teaching hand writing all together? I personally have to send lots of E-Mails with the work I do, but I still love to send letters to people just for that nostalgic feeling you get form remembering what it was like the first time you received a letter addressed to you. For the memory of days before sms text messages and before the internet was a global phenomenon. But the thing you have to remember is us humans are suckers for convenience and we have to adapt in a relative way to the convenient world we create and alter everyday.
I agree with the article that it will be difficult to trace history in the future if every thing is stored on somebody’s hard drive but you have to think about future developments as well. Einstein’s theory of relativity disproved there is a small but not insignificant window of opportunity for time travel, how do we know people from the future don't already travel back in time just to study us? Just an example you understand but I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from

Answer 3

I don't agree with it. I think children should be taught all the possible methods of communication for their native language. I write in cursive sometimes simply because it's faster. They shouldn't assume that computers will be ubiquitous.

However, since there is a lot of inefficiency in the school systems, it may be a worthwhile debate to consider what isn't being taught in order that cursive can be taught. If for example, it means skipping addition, I vote for addition. But I think it's just an excuse. An effective teacher should be able to accomplish both.

Answer 4

I am very frustrated with students who can NOT only write in cursive, but also can NOT read it. I am a middle school teacher who is "not permitted" to write my notes on my board or overhead in cursive because some of my students can't read what I am writing!

I am 28 years old, I am able to type over 75 words a minute AND write cursive! It is rediculous that I am not able to use my writing that I write very neatly and have to print for this reason!

Some of my students don't even know how to SIGN THEIR OWN NAME in cursive - when I do contracts! I am a math teacher who has to teach my students how to sign their name - REDICULOUS!!!

What has happened to our earlier education?

Answer 5

Well, I hardly use cursive. I bet the lack of use is why it's not being taught.

But it's not at all likely that the students will need to read an original handwritten document. The only place I've encountered these are in my historical research class.

Answer 6

who writes in cursive nowadays? -not including those in handwritten journals-
computers have taken the place of nice handwriting - it can even print in cursive-
i think teaching these kids how to write in cursive doesn't make a lot of sense anymore - it just doesn't fit. and oh - those handwritten documents - leave'em to the translators. even if these children can write cursive, they won't be able to understand 'em either. and the doctors who write in cursive? it's the pharmacist's job to understand the scribbles.

writing in cusive may be faster than in print - but isn't typing the fastest?
not for the slow typists though.

Answer 7

That is true they do not teach cursive in school anymore. My nephew has learned cursive because my sister in law taught him. The excuse his school uses is they don't have enough time to meet all requirements put on them by the state. Also, they expect the children to type all their papers. He is in the 3rd grade. It's sad.

Answer 8

Educators can't just teach whatever they want. They have to go by what the state laws require. So it's not necessarily the teachers fault. If it's not in the curriculum then it's most likely not going to be taught. They have to keep up so the students will pass the end of year tests - or they get reprimanded.

Answer 9

cursive is antiquated and i have not seen a single person really right in it since i have been in college. At best its a mangled mix of both. And seriously who reads letters from WWI i have a history degree and i wouldnt read the originals, its kind of sick and would take a bit of a voyeur to want to read that highly personal form of communication.

Answer 10

I've said for years and years - get them out of the public school system. It's a mechanical assembly line that's churning out dummies according to some liberal, socialized agenda and they don't care.