The art of physical writing.

[bohemian]

Here I am not referring to any creative sense of writing, but the physical act.  Please keep on-topic.

 

I was surprised when a brother in the US told me that in his State it was no longer required that schools teach cursive writing. 

Further research revealed that only 21 of the States require this skill to be taught!
 

I think this does a grave disservice to children; there are so many benefits to being able to write - and read - cursive writing, from developing the fine motor skills of moving the fingers slightly without moving the entire hand [imagine a surgeon without that skill!], to the ability to read old documents [your family tree and marriage certificates etc], even being able to read the declaration of independence!
 

It has a calming effect on the writer and it is said that many professional writers start with pen and ink before moving to the computer.

It helps dyslexics, it gives confidence too.

 

Do home-schoolers (I hear there are many JWs who home-school) teach this skill to their children?
 

I would like to hear your views and comments.

[rocket]

Ah, but you miss an important point.  Parents don't need to learn a foreign language to have confidential communication with each other. Just write notes to each other in cursive.

That aside I also think it is a shame that they don't teach cursive in many schools.

[minister159]

I worked for a school district here in California, and I can confirm that cursive writing isn't taught to students in elementary school, as it used to be. The curriculum only includes the printed alphabet and printed word. I never saw one high school student who wrote in cursive letters. All of them printed every written assignment, without exception. Not only that, I estimate that 99% of them didn't know how to hold a pencil or pen correctly for cursive writing. I don't know the reason for this, but I was shocked when I first saw this and viewed it as one more piece of evidence that the public school system in general, has simplified  (euphemism for dumbed down) the education of today's children to their detriment. I think this is one of the reasons a high school diploma isn't worth as much as it used to be, in the eyes of potential employers. Sad but true.

[Sheep]

Well, I learned cursive writing when I went to school. But a lot of good that did me...! I am noting frequently these days that my witnessing periods are full of finding lots of mistakes I made with my handwriting! Having no way (in most cases) to correct the mistakes, I have to toss out my letter and rewrite it!

 

Every time I find one of my mistakes in a letter I feel like it's cursive ...!

[bohemian]

52 minutes ago, Sheep said:

Well, I learned cursive writing when I went to school. But a lot of good that did me...! I am noting frequently these days that my witnessing periods are full of finding lots of mistakes I made with my handwriting! Having no way (in most cases) to correct the mistakes, I have to toss out my letter and rewrite it!

 

Every time I find one of my mistakes in a letter I feel like it's cursive ...!

I can identify with, Eric!   I find writing in cursive (and with a fountain pen not a ball-point) has forced me to take more care and write more slowly.  I am starting to feel happier about my handwritten letters, now.

[rocket]

4 hours ago, Sheep said:

 

Every time I find one of my mistakes in a letter I feel like it's cursive ...!

I finally found some erasable ink pens at Walmart. Less stress.

[Thesauron]

Aren’t there many subjects that would be beneficial to all children, but that just aren’t taught in some schools? Drama, for example, gives confidence. Art and music gives you ways of expressing yourself that are beneficial to your life in many ways. Health, including sexual, and private economy is also a good thing for children to learn from a young age.

[bohemian]

4 hours ago, Thesauron said:

Aren’t there many subjects that would be beneficial to all children, but that just aren’t taught in some schools? Drama, for example, gives confidence. Art and music gives you ways of expressing yourself that are beneficial to your life in many ways. Health, including sexual, and private economy is also a good thing for children to learn from a young age.

That is true Johan.  You could start a more general thread on the benefits of different disciplines.

This thread is about writing specifically.

[Thesauron]

That is true Johan.  You could start a more general thread on the benefits of different disciplines.
This thread is about writing specifically.

Yes, I know, but if the question is about why it is lacking when it is beneficial, the answer is probably that most school systems lack even in important subjects - a lot of them - because we live in an imperfect world where most schools have to balance a small budget with the wishes of parents and politicians. It cannot succeed. Knowing how to write cursive, and mastering it, does not, at first glance, seem like a very important skill.

[Jeanie]

23 hours ago, bohemian said:

Here I am not referring to any creative sense of writing, but the physical act.  Please keep on-topic.

 

I was surprised when a brother in the US told me that in his State it was no longer required that schools teach cursive writing. 

Further research revealed that only 21 of the States require this skill to be taught!
 

I think this does a grave disservice to children; there are so many benefits to being able to write - and read - cursive writing, from developing the fine motor skills of moving the fingers slightly without moving the entire hand [imagine a surgeon without that skill!], to the ability to read old documents [your family tree and marriage certificates etc], even being able to read the declaration of independence!
 

It has a calming effect on the writer and it is said that many professional writers start with pen and ink before moving to the computer.

It helps dyslexics, it gives confidence too.

 

Do home-schoolers (I hear there are many JWs who home-school) teach this skill to their children?
 

I would like to hear your views and comments.

I am actually an occupational therapy professional in the public school system so this is my specialty so to speak.    Schools no longer teach cursive because it is not a skill that is tested in their standardized testing.  If this was a skill that the school was judged on, for example, reading, then we would have more emphasis on it.  Now, having said that, the act of writing is beneficial for a child's growth.  It increases fine motor skills and reading to name a few.  Reading is directly related to the ability to write.  

 

What is not talked about enough, is now we have a large population of people that can not read cursive handwriting either.  This is why I always send my field service letters in print.  But, it is important that people are able to read documents in the past.  How many people in the United States can no longer read the original documents signed years ago?  You would be surprised.  

 

I know this was a homeschool question, but I wanted to chime in and state how important it is for handwriting to be taught.  Even if you do not advance to full cursive, children need to be able to sign their name (although this requirement is fading fast) on some official paperwork.  

[bohemian]

Nice comments all.

 

I was not limiting it home-schooling, but including that area because of what I feel is an important skill being lost - along with concomitant skills.  

 

I think it a shame when judgement is limited to certain subjects, so children are only taught those subjects. It seems a very narrow approach which home-schooling could avoid, perhaps?

[Sheep]

15 hours ago, rocket said:

I finally found some erasable ink pens at Walmart. Less stress.

You're not the only one to mention erasable pens to me. I have some of those pens, but I don't think it proper to use them for letter-writing. The ink in those pens is sensitive to heat, and when you use the eraser to remove what you've written, that creates heat. That heat renders the ink invisible. That's how those pens work.

 

However I also read that if you happen to leave a note you've written in your car on a hot summer day, that could erase your note completely. Can you imagine writing a letter using an erasable pen, then you put it in a hot mailbox for delivery? By the time it gets to its destination, what would the householder see? 

[rocket]

53 minutes ago, Sheep said:

You're not the only one to mention erasable pens to me. I have some of those pens, but I don't think it proper to use them for letter-writing. The ink in those pens is sensitive to heat, and when you use the eraser to remove what you've written, that creates heat. That heat renders the ink invisible. That's how those pens work.

 

However I also read that if you happen to leave a note you've written in your car on a hot summer day, that could erase your note completely. Can you imagine writing a letter using an erasable pen, then you put it in a hot mailbox for delivery? By the time it gets to its destination, what would the householder see? 

The flip side of that is that if you put the heat caused invisible ink letter in the freezer the writing will reappear.

[Girl81]

At one point they quit teaching calligraphy.  

[Hotteok]

As a Korean, I happily welcome young ones not learning cursive English writing ! haha

 

This is common globally, I've heard that these days young people can't quite write..!! especially in Japan and China where they have to use lots of Chinese characters!

Because they're so used to texting~