General Discussion

GoneOffShore

(18,021 posts)

176. MD's handwriting would seem to be an international problem.

Sat Sep 17, 2022, 07:46 AM

Sep 2022

When I lived in the UK, anytime my doctor wrote a prescription, I would ask him what it was, and the dosage, so that I could decipher it if the pharmacy couldn't.
Same thing here in France.

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MY STUDENTS CAN'T READ CURSIVE [View all] douglas9 Sep 2022 OP

This blows my mind, not being able to read cursive or analog clocks. betsuni Sep 2022 #1

My eldest stepson, a doctor, cannot write cursive. Kaleva Sep 2022 #2

Doctors RobinA Sep 2022 #8

Doctors have been infamously unable to write legible cursive for decades muriel_volestrangler Sep 2022 #9

Hell, I'm A Nurse... GB_RN Sep 2022 #63

That's good to know. And TY for being a nurse! Tough times these past 2+ years electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #107

Nurse here too. tavernier Sep 2022 #155

Nice. GB_RN Sep 2022 #159

It was always a psychic guess...LOL LeftInTX Sep 2022 #172

MD's handwriting would seem to be an international problem. GoneOffShore Sep 2022 #176

I'm a teacher. Not only can't student read cursive or write it, but no_hypocrisy Sep 2022 #3

This message was self-deleted by its author Tetrachloride Sep 2022 #7

When I went to school, typing was an elective. Mariana Sep 2022 #15

What level of school? Gidney N Cloyd Sep 2022 #161

My HS did not offer typing class musette_sf Sep 2022 #165

I never took,a typing class but moonscape Sep 2022 #28

I taught myself how to type on my mother's old Royal machine from the 40's. no_hypocrisy Sep 2022 #33

Related Story ProfessorGAC Sep 2022 #103

Aha! 😀👍 electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #113

120 was my best on an IBM Selectric Hermit-The-Prog Sep 2022 #122

Hey! ProfessorGAC Sep 2022 #151

My mom was a super-typist too. hunter Sep 2022 #162

There is a subtle technique difference LeftInTX Sep 2022 #173

I taught myself in college ToxMarz Sep 2022 #52

In the same way that you learned to type when you needed to type Mariana Sep 2022 #112

I never took a typing class... I learned to type on a teletype. Model35mech Sep 2022 #153

For a very long time I was a two-finger typist jmowreader Sep 2022 #31

Now, see, I think there is a correlation there. LisaM Sep 2022 #41

Salutations of letters: these days tis safer, more respectful not to guess gender, even for Peter.nt Bernardo de La Paz Sep 2022 #42

That's less true in foreign countries. LisaM Sep 2022 #44

My 8th grade typing class I took also did some basic business instruction too. Ligyron Sep 2022 #49

Keyboarding is standard in most jh curriculum as part of a cycle JT45242 Sep 2022 #61

I don't use it much, but I can read it. LisaM Sep 2022 #72

A lot of kids only know how to use two thumbs. sdfernando Sep 2022 #74

Typing class was 1/wk for a semester in HS... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #111

They need to.learn keyboards LeftInTX Sep 2022 #134

my students (college) look at me like I'm possessed tishaLA Sep 2022 #141

A lot of threat writers type with just two fingers.. Grins Sep 2022 #157

My parents and some of their contemporaries had what I call a "beautiful hand". panader0 Sep 2022 #4

That's My Wife ProfessorGAC Sep 2022 #105

😄 Not if you're left-handed! I realized my half-hook for cursive was... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #117

Over time, my cursive writing has gotten pretty bad. OAITW r.2.0 Sep 2022 #5

Reminds me of my lessons in using a slide rule. JHB Sep 2022 #6

Slide rules sent men to the moon. I still have my fathers that was used on the Apollo missions. Lochloosa Sep 2022 #11

We used computers DavidDvorkin Sep 2022 #18

Yes, but many at least still had their well-used slide rules. Hortensis Sep 2022 #43

The Soviets had excellent slide rules, excellent engineers, excellent mathematicians, and powerful DavidDvorkin Sep 2022 #69

I know..lol! LeftInTX Sep 2022 #135

Slide rules fill gap between hand-waving and complete precise calculation Bernardo de La Paz Sep 2022 #32

For a long time electronic calculators would give burrowowl Sep 2022 #59

March for Science in San Francisco a few years back: lots of creative scientific types NBachers Sep 2022 #36

My dad used one. I asked him to try and teach me bc it was a cool looking... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #120

Happened many years ago 4Q2u2 Sep 2022 #10

It's not necessary to sign things in cursive. Mariana Sep 2022 #20

my one son's Conjuay Sep 2022 #115

other than my signature i havent written cursive in decades moonshinegnomie Sep 2022 #12

Does cursive have a modern purpose anymore? indigovalley Sep 2022 #13

No, it really doesn't. Mariana Sep 2022 #17

I totally agree. I'm a lefty who had to learn cursive in a right-handed raccoon Sep 2022 #70

I stopped using cursive as soon as they stopped forcing me to do it. Mariana Sep 2022 #84

Fellow lefty! I till write in cursive most of the time with my half hook. Of course I can print, too electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #126

+10 nt reACTIONary Sep 2022 #29

I use it all the time. nt leftyladyfrommo Sep 2022 #85

It doesn't and those teaching hours are better spent on other areas Amishman Sep 2022 #97

I don't think lots of time should be spent on it but meadowlander Sep 2022 #130

Just so you know, there's no requirement that signatures have to be in cursive. Mariana Sep 2022 #14

Yes I teach that to my students indigovalley Sep 2022 #56

Oh, I love that! Imagine having learn Calligraphy in Art College!... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #128

Although I grew up writing cursive I am unable to decipher family journals from the 1850s-90s. Chainfire Sep 2022 #16

We don't develop skills we rarely (or never) use. Some have trouble learning used skills. Gore1FL Sep 2022 #19

Well... ShazzieB Sep 2022 #26

I learned cursive in the 3rd grade. Gore1FL Sep 2022 #34

I'm an autistic spectrum mildly dyslexic klutz. hunter Sep 2022 #21

Horrible. We do advance, as we need to, in so many ways, but...too slow! :) Hortensis Sep 2022 #53

How do students take notes these days? Writing print letters is significantly slower than cursive progree Sep 2022 #22

I was recording college lectures 20 years ago Amishman Sep 2022 #98

So do you then listen to the recorder and transcribe (type) the recording? progree Sep 2022 #119

I'm listened to the lectures over as a form of studying Amishman Sep 2022 #156

The notes I took in class were not detailed or comprehensive, but rather the important points progree Sep 2022 #164

Lettering is slower if you're used to writing in cursive Mariana Sep 2022 #106

That was the point of cursive - to write faster. That's what they told us anyway in the 60's progree Sep 2022 #121

So? moosewhisperer Sep 2022 #23

That's ok Sympthsical Sep 2022 #24

What's even worse is that nowadays hardly anyone knows how to use an astrolabe! DavidDvorkin Sep 2022 #25

+1 Celerity Sep 2022 #158

Thanls to computers, I stopped writing cursive in the 70's and never looked back. tinrobot Sep 2022 #27

A bad decision on the part of "educators" barbtries Sep 2022 #30

id rather the time be spend on things like math and science moonshinegnomie Sep 2022 #38

I could not disagree more. barbtries Sep 2022 #54

+1 n/t area51 Sep 2022 #89

schools have limited time for instruction moonshinegnomie Sep 2022 #100

Oooo, that was interesting stuff! Learned cursive back in the early '60s ... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #129

There are MANY things that are not obsolete that boost cognitive development JCMach1 Sep 2022 #150

Not true USALiberal Sep 2022 #160

It's still being taught Meowmee Sep 2022 #181

I might have said the same thing in 1932. BannonsLiver Sep 2022 #66

see post 54 barbtries Sep 2022 #68

And why exactly would any modern teacher spend as much time teaching cursive? plimsoll Sep 2022 #35

I find it sad that the younger generation can't read things from the past: their parents' sinkingfeeling Sep 2022 #37

If they want to read those things, they'll learn to read cursive. Mariana Sep 2022 #142

I have friends with grandchildren, TNNurse Sep 2022 #39

As you say, this is a skill that is not that hard. Mariana Sep 2022 #175

Mental arithmetic: loss of ability impacts critical thinking Bernardo de La Paz Sep 2022 #40

Intrinsic value llmart Sep 2022 #51

Yup, typing and Latin for me too, two most useful classes outside of Mathematics. . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Sep 2022 #71

I have a degree in math. Sucked at mental arithmetic LeftInTX Sep 2022 #137

Wow.... Well I wasn't good at anything once we got beyond the major basics... electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #144

I always considered cursive top be a waste of time relayerbob Sep 2022 #45

Neither of my kids can write in cursive mcar Sep 2022 #46

My son's school teaches curisve and that's how he writes. SYFROYH Sep 2022 #47

Good for them! johnp3907 Sep 2022 #48

As an exercise, I just wrote a sentence. Nittersing Sep 2022 #50

I was taught cursive in elementary school, but never used it after that. C Moon Sep 2022 #55

I only write in cursive from grocery lists to letters I write to companies and the government. Dysfunctional Sep 2022 #57

I'm a substitute teacher and when I write a note to the teacher I write it in cursive so students kimbutgar Sep 2022 #58

Same Here ProfessorGAC Sep 2022 #108

When I was a nurse, I hated deciphering doc's bad handwriting, so when childfreebychoice Sep 2022 #60

My two grandsons . . . AverageOldGuy Sep 2022 #62

From what Rebl2 Sep 2022 #64

This 84 year old great grandmother just wrote a note to her 21 year old granddaughter. BarbD Sep 2022 #65

I'm an old who can read cursive, but kcr Sep 2022 #67

Cursive is good for your brain. cbabe Sep 2022 #73

My son has ADHD, and there was a theory that a certain kind of cursive writing (I deurbano Sep 2022 #80

That makes sense meadowlander Sep 2022 #132

A few years ago, I saw some research about the efficacy (in terms of retention) of taking notes by deurbano Sep 2022 #168

I went back to Berkeley at 67, and found I can no longer write by hand! (Not even printing!) deurbano Sep 2022 #75

❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️ Lucinda Sep 2022 #76

voting orleans Sep 2022 #77

I see that as progress. It's really unnecessary to have two writing systems in these modern times. Goodheart Sep 2022 #78

I did shorthand abd cursive. Cursive is so much faster leftyladyfrommo Sep 2022 #82

Ability to read cursive/old fashioned writing helped me immensely in historical ancestry research wishstar Sep 2022 #79

It's helped me a great deal, too. Mariana Sep 2022 #88

Can you read insular minuscule? Act_of_Reparation Sep 2022 #81

This message was self-deleted by its author Mosby Sep 2022 #92

It is exactly the same. Act_of_Reparation Sep 2022 #95

This message was self-deleted by its author Mosby Sep 2022 #96

Hmmmm. can read some of that. Took Calligraphy in Art College. electric_blue68 Sep 2022 #131

I write cursive a page a day ... it is much quicker than printing bedazzled Sep 2022 #83

It blows my mind people don't know how to render fat into heating oil these days Johnny2X2X Sep 2022 #86

Exactly! moosewhisperer Sep 2022 #90

Pretty much alphafemale Sep 2022 #146

I can read it, but it depends on the handwriting. sakabatou Sep 2022 #87

I'm 39 and write in cursive but Jspur Sep 2022 #91

I prefer cursive because its faster sky_masterson Sep 2022 #93

It's faster if that's how you normally write. Mariana Sep 2022 #139

For me it's faster because the pen leaves the paper less sky_masterson Sep 2022 #148

I write in cursive - it's faster and if you're writing a lot, your hand does not cramp as quickly. Midwestern Democrat Sep 2022 #169

I suppose it can be an art and a part of one's personality. Mariana Sep 2022 #178

I think about this a lot as I'm hand-writing GOTV postcards. Ms. Toad Sep 2022 #94

I'd rather teaching time be spent learning Russian than something useless like cursive. YourFriendlySnake Sep 2022 #99

Yeah, I bumped into this several years ago. So much for history and family treasures. nt LAS14 Sep 2022 #101

Yes, no one would ever learn to read cursive on their own Mariana Sep 2022 #104

thing is, you only have to learn it once, maybe in 3rd grade, once you know it you can do it forever IcyPeas Sep 2022 #102

I can't write it anymore. LuckyCharms Sep 2022 #109

To this day I STILL remember the classroom that had the cursive alphabet on the walls WarGamer Sep 2022 #110

Yep. On green placards with white writing... LuckyCharms Sep 2022 #114

Absolutely. WarGamer Sep 2022 #154

People learn what they need to know. KentuckyWoman Sep 2022 #116

I am surprised as well... Meowmee Sep 2022 #118

I never taught my homeschooled son cursive writing, but he can still read cursive liberal_mama Sep 2022 #123

Can you read Latin? alphafemale Sep 2022 #124

I do genealogy research. How will future generations be able to do research? LiberalFighter Sep 2022 #125

If they want to read old documents, they will learn to read cursive. Mariana Sep 2022 #138

It is not easy for those of us that grew up with it to read all cursive. LiberalFighter Sep 2022 #180

No need for it anymore. Xolodno Sep 2022 #127

Cursive is still taught in European schools. Except to doctors. GoneOffShore Sep 2022 #177

My oldest grandson, 18, was explicitly not taught cursive Hekate Sep 2022 #133

There is something you can do about it, IF he's interested in learning it. Mariana Sep 2022 #136

You mean be his teacher? That does not work for everybody. Hekate Sep 2022 #140

You can buy him a book on cursive writing for adults. Mariana Sep 2022 #143

Have you tried teaching them Russian? gldstwmn Sep 2022 #145

I can't remember the last time I needed that skill. Happy Hoosier Sep 2022 #147

Obsolescence, it's a thing... JCMach1 Sep 2022 #149

Exactly. People who need that skill will learn it. Mariana Sep 2022 #179

I remember that when I was a Junior or Senior in college, I took notes in a history class, ... planetc Sep 2022 #152

Do other cultures such as Chinese or Japanese have two different ways of handwriting? Gidney N Cloyd Sep 2022 #163

Yes Meowmee Sep 2022 #166

Arabic and Armenian do LeftInTX Sep 2022 #171

Japanese uses three writing systems -- katakana and hiragana (phonetic) and kanji (ideographic). eppur_se_muova Sep 2022 #174

Maybe it can be made into an elective course. The thing with CUrsive is that even people that can JI7 Sep 2022 #167

I was surprised to find out from my granddaughter that they don't teach it in our schools. GoodRaisin Sep 2022 #170

Good information. Now I can use sloppy cursive as a code to irritate and confound Roisin Ni Fiachra Sep 2022 #182