General Discussion

Mariana

(15,626 posts)

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

Sat Sep 17, 2022, 07:56 AM

Sep 2022

I have a stack of letters and other handwritten documents from a bunch of my relatives who all lived in the same town and went to the same public schools from about 1915 to 1935. Their handwriting is identical. Obviously, they were not allowed to express any "art" or "personality" in their penmanship classes.

That's how it was done when I learned cursive, too. You formed your letters exactly the way they were in the book, right down to the degree of slant, or you got red marks all over your papers.

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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