Does ANYbody write cursive anymore? Just curious....

[Shine]

My third grader is in the process of learning to write cursive and is consequently very proud of herself. Granted, it's standard protocol at this age, and will be required over the next several years of her schooling, but I remember at some point in my own education, giving up writing cursive and going back to printing because I liked it so much better. I don't know if it was in high school or what, but I haven't written cursive in DECADES.

Seriously, the ONLY thing I write in cursive, these days, is my signature. When I do write, I'll print it out, with upper and lower case letters. Either that, or just TYPE on my computer.

What do YOU do? Do you write cursive anymore?? Is it becoming a "lost art"? Does it even matter, in today's modern world? What are your thoughts?
:popcorn:

[LaraMN]

1. I write letters in cursive.

That's about it.

[pitohui]

55. i'd rather not READ letters in cursive

no doubt your pensmanship is beautiful but when i had a business selling on ebay i had to pass a rule that NO hand-written addresses, all addresses had to be typed out or emailed to me, yeah, send a money order if you want, but you still gotta email a PRINTED address that could actually be read

otherwise some people's packages would still be orbiting mars

i had too many senior customers and senior's handwriting is shit!

at least young people know they can't write cursive and print everything

[Fenris]

2. I write everything in cursive.

I find it's faster.

[Mizmoon]

45. exactly

of course, no one can read it but me, but people should mind their own business anyhow :)

[Sequoia]

3. I hope not, 'cause when compters are gone

people won't know how to write and we can take over the world by our penmanship alone! Yay...oh never mind. People do appreciate a written thank you note though.

[Shine]

I agree about a hand written thank you note being best.

but do you print it or write it in cursive? :shrug:

Personally, I think printing is faster, but that's just me.

[Sequoia]

67. I actually print better.

I was trying to write cursive and my hand started to hurt and my writing looked like it did back in school. Got to keep it up.

[Shine]

71. Yeah, I print better too, and it's much faster, imo.

cursive would take me forever.

:hi:

[Common Sense Party]

105. My printing is atrocious, but it's much more legible than cursive.

I honestly cannot even remember how to form some cursive letters without stopping and thinking it through.

So my printing is much faster.

[Sequoia]

107. It hurts my hand too.

[flamingyouth]

4. I write things in cursive

But I try to print so that people can read my writing easier. :D

[ContraBass Black]

5. I do.

And I learned in first grade. I'm 21.

[Shine]

12. Wow, first grade?! That's pretty young to start.

you must be a high-achiever. :)

:hi:

[xmas74]

20. I learned the same year.

That's when they taught us. And I've got almost 11 years on the previous poster.

[Shine]

36. Yeah, well I've got 20 years on him! LOL! I can't even remember

what year I learned, it was soooooo long ago. :eyes:

I think nowadays, though, it usually kicks in full steam around the third grade. At least that's how it is out here on the west coast.

[rug]

74. .

yeah well i'm in first grade and i write in cursive

love...Laura.

O8)

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. I always write in cursive. I like cursive better because it is quicker.

:hi:

[Shine]

14. LOL. To me, it's the exact opposite.

thank goddess for differences, eh?
:hi:

[johnnie]

7. I write a little of both

I mostly print, but I throw in a few cursive letters. My handwriting has always been a complete mess. I also have a tendency to interchange capital and small letters. For example, I will write "ClEveland.

[Shine]

17. LOL. I do kind of the same thing, in terms of mixing it up.

I will sometimes attach a couple of letters to each other so it looks rather cursive-like.

I don't throw in capitals with small, but I'm sure that your doing it is a sign of Higher Intelligence. ;)heheh.

[johnnie]

48. Umm yeah....

That's what it is. Higher intelligence..LOL

[Shine]

51. Ya gotta take it where you can get, baby.

:rofl:

[Call Me Wesley]

8. That's my handwriting, although with a pen tablet ...

[Richardo]

11. Hi Wesley!

You suck! :rofl:

[Call Me Wesley]

15. LOL!

You surely mean my handwriting! :rofl:

[Shine]

19. LOL! It looks like you interchange capital letters with small letters, too

particularly with the letter "R". Interesting, eh? I make my "a's the same way you do, btw.

Aren't you THRILLED? :eyes:

[Call Me Wesley]

24. I am thrilled, honestly.

But my small 'R' is smaller than my capital 'R.' I have to admit, I once saw a beautiful handwriting using it and I adopted it. I mean, if I ever write 'Rabrrrrrr', that would look really nice. :rofl:

[Shine]

33. Hmmm...that's interesting. I did the same thing with the letter "a"

noticed how cool it looked elsewhere and then adopted it as my own.

I believe you about "Rabrrrrrr". :)

[Rabrrrrrr]

60. oooh, do it do it do it!

And make a jpg of it!

I'll put it in my sigline.

[Call Me Wesley]

63. I see what I can do,

that meets your standarrrrrrds, of course. ;) I'll have it ready tomorrow. :hi:

[Shine]

64. Oh goodie, I want to see it, too!

:hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

73. D'oh!! Not tomorrow! I can't wait for tomorrow!

:cry:

:impatientfoottapping:

Well, actually, I can. Sorry for sounding rude... I'm just so excited!

[miss_american_pie]

9. Well yes, but I'm weird like that

When I write thank you notes/card etc. it's always cursive.

And when I "write" I have to do so in certain types of notebooks with certain pens. Printing is too slow, and I can't compose anything on a computer.

It seems very inefficient, and I should just switch.

[Reverend_Smitty]

10. I think I stopped writing cursive in middle school...

definitely by high school. It's a lost art to be sure, I love looking at those old letters from our founding fathers...they had such beautiful handwriting. Although I'm kind of ashamed to admit I have a hard time reading something written in cursive. I don't know what that says about me.

My personal handwriting is a mixture of upper and lowercase print and sometimes my "l's" and "e's" turn cursive

[Shine]

22. Yup, me too. I combine my letters, so that they blend together

I agree with you about the beautiful penmanship of our founding fathers...and our own grandparents, for that matter, as well.

:hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear Shine.....

I very rarely write anything by hand anymore.....

I love my computer!

But, on the rare occasion that I do write a note, I do use cursive writing...


I think it is part of me, and it pleases me to share this bit of myself with whomever I am writing...


:loveya: :hug:

[Call Me Wesley]

16. And you have wonderful handwriting.

I've seen it! :hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. Omigod!

That's right....you HAVE seen it! For a moment, I had forgotten.....

And then I remembered...the holiday card!

Thank you, my dear Call Me Wesley......"deep curtsey"

Isn't it something? The connections we make....all due to the internet, and to DU?

Amazing......:hug:

[Call Me Wesley]

28. Connections don't have boundaries. :)

:loveya:

[Shine]

26. Yes, hand-written notes are the most meaningful. Esp. thank you notes.

It's been so long since I've written anything in cursive, it would take me forever to get anything out. I much prefer printing.

:hug: :loveya: :hi:

[billyskank]

18. I dunno...is this cursive?

[Shine]

29. I would say so, given how most of the letters are attached.

:hi: billy!

It's certainly readable, that's for sure. :thumbsup:

[billyskank]

44. Hi Shine!

Readable eh, that sounds like a good thing! :D

:hi:

[Call Me Wesley]

31. That's yours?

I like it very much! :hi:

[billyskank]

42. Just a scrawl on a post-it

But yes, it's mine. :hi:

[xmas74]

21. I do all the time.

It's just the way I have always written.

[no name no slogan]

23. My mom does. I usually type or just scrawl in my own hybrid style

nobody can read my handwriting-- least of all me.

[Shine]

30. My hubby's handwriting is that way, too. He writes cursive, just badly.

;) I can hardly EVER read it.

[mwooldri]

84. Exactly. You just want to curse when reading it.

Sorry Curse, Cursive - - bad pun I know.

But seriously when I went to school they called it "joined up handwriting".

When I went to Middle School, I was forced to learn the art of calligraphy. Fountain pens were obligatory in all schoolwork. BTW: this was a State run UK school, so yes the nice uniforms etc. but no nasty school fees. Couldn't wait to get to Secondary School so I could buy those cheap biros instead. By that time my handwriting resembled our family practitioner's!

Mark.

[Ariana Celeste]

27. My writing is all mixed up.

I can write in cursive if I feel the need to, but :blush: I have forgotten what a couple of the upper case cursive letters are. I always, always had trouble with Q, z, and Z.

I print mainly but some of my letters connect in a cursive way, depending on what letters are next to eachother.

On top of that, my N's, R's, and M's, are always upper case... just smaller. My lower case q is almost always cursive. And so are my y's. My d's look cursive, but I don't mean to make them that way. It just comes out like that when I write fast.

My handwriting is pretty neat, though, I think. And I haven't come across anyone yet who cannot read it.

[trackfan]

32. Sometimes, when I'm writing several checks, I use cursive

just to get it over with a bit faster.

[tjwmason]

34. Always - but in my on unique style.

If folk want - I can scan some when I get into work tomorrow.

[Ladyhawk]

38. The only cursive letter I replace with printing is the capital "Q."

I always hated the look of it...looks like a "2" to me. :shrug:

[Shine]

41. yeah, the cursive letter "Q" is really weird. I agree. n/t

[Ladyhawk]

35. I speak in cursive. To bone up, I view the South Park movie.

Shut your fucking face, uncle fucker!
You're a cock-sucking, ass-licking uncle fucker!

You shit-eating donkey raper!

You blood-belching vagina...wait, are you guys talking about something else? :blush:

[Shine]

43. LOL! It had to be done. n/t.

[Ladyhawk]

62. Yep. I was surprised I was the first one. :D

Usually someone beats me to the punchline. ;)

[XemaSab]

37. My handwriting is an illegible scrawl

So I can't really say whether it's cursive or not. x(

[billyskank]

46. ...

Hi Xema!!!!

:loveya:

(Did you put progmom up to kick my goodnight thread again)?

[XemaSab]

52. I totally didn't!

:o

[billyskank]

57. Hmmmm...

[caty]

39. Since I have

carpal tunnel syndrome (which I got from typing so much on computers at work), I print every thing except my signature. It's just easier to read and, for some reason, easier for me to do.

[Nikia]

40. We were required to write cusive all through high school

In my school system by most teachers. Since I started cursive writing around the time that my written language skills were really developing and used it all that time, writing cursively became almost like my fluent language. When I am writing something from my thoughts, I don't think about forming the letters at all. My hand naturually forms the word. Through required typed work in college as well as my many posts on DU, typing is becoming fluent for me in the same way. As for printing, I have to think about forming the letters.

[ThomCat]

47. Nobody can read my cursive, so I print everything in

small capital letters.

[Shine]

49. Hmmm...interesting.

My dad, who is 66, writes everything in all capital letters, too. My mom, on the other hand, has perfect penmanship and writes everything in cursive. Maybe that's why they divorced, hehehe.

:)

[nonconformist]

50. Always write in cursive, it's faster

My cursive is usually a print/cursive hybrid, unless I'm writing something relatively formal like in a greeting card.

[politicat]

53. Learned Spencerian script in elementary school....

Gotta love nuns. They would still be teaching that Copernicus was dead wrong if the Pope hadn't told them otherwise. I'm just lucky they had decided that lefties were not satanic!

I learned Spencerian script in the early 80s. I still have excellent handwriting and use cursive almost exclusively because it's tidier for me. I don't hook my hand around, and I'm one of the few lefties I know that has decent handwriting.

If I use a good pen, I can write for hours. But I can't stand ballpoints. They make my hand hurt.

[pitohui]

54. no and a lot of younger people can't even read it

typing is just better and easier on the eyes, i don't see the point of cursive, but people do need to know the rudiments so they can develop a signature and maybe read their grandmother's old love letters

not much good for anything else and you will meet kids and teens who can't write cursive at all

it probably isn't of much use and prob. a lot of time shouldn't be devoted to teaching it these days

[Shine]

68. What surprises me is how many apparently still do write in cursive

I guess the common consensus is that it's "easier" to write, but not necessarily "easier" to read. heheheh.

[Nikia]

72. Are there schools that still require using it for a while?

As I mentioned above, in my school system, we were required to turn in work in cursive (stuff that wasn't typed) and write tests that way all through school. In high school, there were some teachers who didn't care, but some did so it was easier to stay cursive. In elementary school, it was strictly required (failed the assignmentin print). I graduated high school in 1996. It was a public school.

[skygazer]

56. I do both

Mostly, I print but often I mix cursive and printing because the cursive is quicker - it flows together. I hardly ever write by hand anymore though because within minutes, my fingers cramp up. :hi:

[beyurslf]

58. I type everything. I think my cursive writing is as bad as writing with

my left hand--completely illegible.

[Rabrrrrrr]

59. In correspondance I write in cursive

But otherwise, I use, like most people probably do, a uniquely personal scribbling that's a mix of print, cursive, and symbols.

But I do think it's becoming a lost art - older people, esp. women, I notice, still use cursive in most of their notes and handwriting stuff, whether it be personal notetaking for their own use, a recipe, or a letter to a friend.

And when I write in cursive, I have to be very deliberate about it. It's not a natural thing for me, and if I'm not careful, it becomes very unreadable to others. And even when it's legible, it's not pretty.

Which is sad - good handwriting is something that I wish I had. But even with a lot of practice, and being careful, it's never beautiful.

[OhioBlue]

61. I write everything in cursive

to me that is writing, printing is "printing". :shrug:

[LSK]

65. my boss does and I CANT read her writing

:grr:

[Benfea]

66. I gave it up as soon as I could.

I studied cursive a year earlier than my classmates, but I stopped using it as soon as doing so didn't get me in trouble with the teacher. It has always annoyed me.

[Shine]

69. Me too.

which is why it's strange to have my daughter ask me how to write certain letters and I so don't care anymore! LOL.

[tigereye]

70. all those years of Catholic school writing practice

right down the toilet. I print/write - half and half. My son has learned to write in cursive, but it does kind of irrelevant, doesn't it?

[Shine]

78. LOL! I can totally relate to the Catholic school scene.

and yes, it does seem irrelevant these days. But, I've been surprised by this thread and how many people apparently still do use cursive writing.

I do the combo thang, too. Not really cursive, but my printing sometimes connects letters.

:hi: tigereye! :hug:

[tigereye]

112. hey Shine!

too bad we can't have coffee sometime, I bet that would be fun! :hi:

What's new? My kid has spring break next 2 weeks, so I'm looking for some fun stuff to do.

[Shine]

113. Well, my favorite season of all is about to start

plus my birthday is in 11 days! :bounce: :party: :woohoo:

My kids don't have spring break til April and they only get a week off.

Yeah, I bet we'd have fun hangin' out together, tigereye. :hug:

[tigereye]

114. another Ares?

My husband and kid are Ares. So are 2 of my brothers. I'm surrounded by em.

We always get the school spring break a bit early, I guess we are supposed to go to Bermuda or somethin....:D

[WritingIsMyReligion]

75. I abhor cursive.

I'll take my sloppy, fucked-up print any day.

:P

[Shine]

79. Yeah, me too, babe.

"I abhor cursive." LOL! :rofl:

"Abhor" is SUCH a good word. :thumbsup: heheheh.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

83. Yeah....I LOVE it!

Right up there with "despise"...

:D

:rofl:

:hi:

[Shine]

86. So, you LOVE "Abhor" and "Despise"? That's funny.

you're a study in contradictions.... :P

[WritingIsMyReligion]

93. Yeah, that's what they say.

;)

[name not needed]

76. No. My writing's fucked up as it is.

[yvr girl]

77. It depends

If it's notes for myself, I use a combo printing/writing style. If it's for someone else, (like a card) I use cursive.

[Shine]

81. That definitely sounds "Princess"-like, to me!

;)

[yvr girl]

90. I try

:hi:

[NYdemocrat089]

80. We learned how to write in cursive in third and fourth grade.

Throughout elementary school they made it seem like a big deal so we just wrote in cursive. Once we entered Junior High most of us dropped cursive (myself included). Now, in High School, I don't see anyone use cursive. I only use it in my signature.

[Shine]

87. Yup, that's exactly my story, too.

I'll be curious to see what my own kids (ages 9 & 12) end up doing.....

Time will tell....

:hi:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

82. Mine is more of a combination of print and cursive...

I've developed a hybrid. It works for me. I mostly have to just sign my name anyway.
Duckie

[Katherine Brengle]

85. I write in cursive most of the time--

but I really don't write by hand much--mostly on my computer.

[Gormy Cuss]

88. I write in cursive when ever I can.

It's just faster for me. My penmanship is messy too.;)

[supernova]

89. I use cursive for private notes

mostly: thank you notes, hand-written letters and of course my signature.

But to take notes or simply write down something, I print. It's faster. And if I can possibly help it, I type rather than write by hand at all. It saves me last scrapes of paper and I can type faster than print.

[Ekirh]

91. I don't write cursive

I have a writing disability so starting in the third grade I started typing all of my work and assignments so said teachers decided there was no point in teaching me cursive.

I can write my name in cursive but that's it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

92. I'd more or less forgotten how

by the time I entered college. I studied to be a draftsman for like six years, so I'd gotten used to a blueprint style of lettering and had started to develop my own sort of architectural style.

Then I switched majors to journalism and started scrawling notes, and before long that precise lettering was history. :blush: I can still do it, but I have to put effort into it.

Yeah — I think the Palmerian script we learned in first grade is passé. WTF was up with all those curliques, anyway?

[Shine]

95. LOL! Yeah, well, my darling third grader is sooooo into it.

she's all proud of herself. They're working their way through the alphabet...

It'll be interesting to see if either of my kids use it as they get older and our society depends more and more on computer technology to communicate.

Time will tell...

:hi:

[reyd reid reed]

98. My third-grader is learning, too...

And I'll still use it sometimes, depends on my mood and the situation. I like to think that my handwriting, both print and cursive, is fairly legible, but I still tend to print if other people are going to read it. Especially people I don't know. First impressions and all that, I suppose.

Remember having to sit at your desk in school with both feet flat on the floor and the paper slanted just so and copying out letter after letter after letter until they were perfect every time? And a category on your report card, marked "Penmanship?"

Or is that just me?

[Shine]

101. Yes!! I remember! I'd forgotten about having to slant the paper

until you reminded me. :rofl:

Yup, so loooong ago....

Welcome to DU, btw, reyd reid reed! :toast:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

94. I write in cursive, and have since about 1959.

:-)

[NV Whino]

96. Yeah, but you can't read it.

I print in Caps and small caps. Or computer, which is even better because it has a spell check in addition to being readable.

[Redstone]

97. I never learned to. I went to a school that had four rooms for 8 grades.

There wasn't time for the teachers to get into that stuff, with two grades in each room.

Redstone

[Shine]

102. Hmmm...that must've been interesting, Redstone.

talk about your "combo-classes"....

:hi:

[Kat45]

99. Rarely. My handwriting is bad enough when I print; when I

try to write in cursive, it's totally illegible. My signature is illegible. I used to have decent handwriting; I don't know what happened. When I find things I wrote years ago, I can't believe it's my writing!

[brentspeak]

100. I have a way of combining cursive with print

Not on purpose, though.

[Kali]

103. I went through this when my kids had to learn

I was like WTF? Who writes this way anymore? Right when they are just starting to print legibly the school says hmmmmm nah, lets learn this NEW useless way to do it, just to screw with your little heads....


They should be learning to type, not write in some unreadable code ... belongs in an art class if you ask me.

[Shine]

104. Thank you!! I totally agree.

I must say, learning how to type in high school was one of the most valuable lessons I learned.

It seems weird, indeed, to have them learn something they won't really need much later. However, I've been surprised in this thread by reading how many apparently still DO write cursive.

Me? I kinda do the hybrid thing. It's basically printing, but some of the letters are attached, almost cursive-like.

[fishwax]

106. I use a strange mix of cursive and print

It's mostly cursive, but with print letters thrown in, depending on the letter and it's position in the word. I still haven't figured out all the rules of my system, but it seems to work for me :)

[I Have A Dream]

108. Same for me. I also can't figure out my rules. It just flows. n/t

[Shine]

111. "It just flows".....I like that!

sounds good to me! :thumbsup:

:hi: :hug:

[DrGonzoLives]

109. I do

I prefer it, it's faster.

[LoZoccolo]

110. When taking notes for myself I write in cursive.

For other people I think I pretty much always print because people would not be able to read my cursive.