I just read Indiana won't teach cursive writing in public schools anymore.

Really? Would they stop teaching cursive writing? I believe that there is still a use of cursive writing. Most signatures are in cursive writing, right? Does it mean we have to change signatures? if that would happen, i guess signatures will be alike to others. Tell me, how would we make a unique signatures if we use the bold letter? I think there would be a big problem on this. Hope this change is for the better not for worse.

I think that this is a bad idea. People should learn to write and cursive because it's another way to engage the brain into more hand-eye coordination. This might sound too basic of an idea that champions cursive writing, but there is something valuable in this skill. There was a time when my high school taught cursive and everyone had the same penmanship. It's a discipline that my school believed in because it taught uniformity and it also became part of the culture. Sadly, my school doesn't teach this to us. I still use cursive, but I don't cross my t's at the end of words that end with t because my school taught me that way. I know people who still write this way and I think that it's a wonderful thing. Also, how about calligraphy? Aren't there potential art students in Indiana who may want to learn calligraphy and typography?

I do not think it is right to get rid of cursive writing. Even though I never was very good at it, I find that it does lend a distinction as to signature. If we all had to write in block letters, then these would be easier to copy so that it would be easier to pretend to be someone else. Also getting rid of cursive writing would mean that there would be no more desire to practice good writing. I have trouble with my wrist, but even then Iwill try to see if I can write and if later on I can read what I write. It also shows me how well it has been since my wrist accident.

Hi Barb! It's just like you said. We still need cursive writing because that's how we sign our name. Unless they will accept initials or printed names as signatures which I think is definitely not recommended since it can easily be copied. If they don't want to teach cursive writing, then maybe they can copy what the Japanese and Koreans do. They use something like a stamp, it's short and circular like a crayon used to stamp one's name in a formal document. That way, they wouldn't require people to learn cursive writing.

I read in the first box the debate over the signature and I have to also agree that, yes whether a signature or printed, it can be forged, but I believe that cursive is harder to do, especially if you have seen my signature... I am also surprised that Indiana is the first state to do this, correct? Because I thought if any state would take this action first it would be New York or California, not Indiana. I live in Ohio, next to Indiana and all I can say is, I am glad that Ohio isn't stopping this and that my son had already learned cursive writing..Because if Ohio stopped before he learned, that would mean I would have another subject to teach him since the schools are not..

I really think part of what is happening is everyone assumes that the future of all documents is digital, that paper will soon be a thing of the past. For example, ebook readers are trendy and paperbacks are the new "uncool." There is a huge push from a variety of sources for society to go completely digital. Cheaper processing, more convenience and all that crud. Maybe schools have noticed this and think that in the near future cursive writing will be irrelevant! Hey, everyone will be typing on computers, right? Wrong! If laptops and desktops with their keyboards were the only mainstream computers, then maybe cursive would indeed no longer be useful in the near future. But think about it. Tablet (touchscreen) computers are on the rise. The tablet is difficult to type on so many people are turning to digital hand writing. Digital handwriting is just like writing on paper - except the "paper" is a screen. This makes it possible to still sign contracts in cursive - digitally no less. Also consider this: when one goes to Wal-Mart and uses a check (that gets scanned) or a debit card, they must sign their signature on that screen thing. When one gets a prescription they must also sign the same screen thing. And what is that signature in? Cursive. If society goes digital, these screen things will just be more common. Cursive is not going away. As I have shown above, it is going digital. Cursive will keep its place in regards to signing documents. All the schools are doing is putting kids at a serious disadvantage.

I believe that the art of good handwriting is still an essential skill. Cursive hands developed partly from the need to write faster and, because of the fragility of a quill, from the need to not lift the pen from the paper so often. These days, when most people write in ball-point, the latter consideration is irrelevant. It is certainly also necessary to be able to type quickly and I can see it as reasonable that an education system, with only limited time available for teaching, should choose to concentrate of keyboard skills rather than handwriting. Both Indiana and Hawaii have recently made the teaching of cursive - what I would call 'joined-up writing' - optional. It would make a great deal of sense to continue to teach the art of writing by hand but to use script which more closely resembles modern computer and book fonts. The Italic versions of most fonts, in fact, derive directly from a style which became popular in Italy and was sometimes called the 'Humanist' style. It was far more readable and quicker to write than the other cursive styles of its day.

Shameful to encourage illiteracy. IMO it show a real lack of education and class when a person cannot even write in cursive.

If we can't write - and that is what will happen if we stop teaching it - then we lose some of our civilisation. Technology exists to make our lives easier but we are on the slippery slope to becoming the slave of technology rather than the reverse.

I hope they would not really do that, for me writing is an art..its like painting itself..i could remember back then when i would practice it again and again till its perfect. I even teach my daughter that. I still write my hubby letters lol i am hoping they would not pursue such.

I'm already annoyed with my pupils, their handwriting isn't really very good and I teach subject for which they have to write. Or use a lot of time to learn text editors that makes it easy to write formulas and numbers, which isn't really an option for all of them. Cursive writing is quite fast, I don't think I'd manage to get through exams etc without it. Writing one and one letter when you write on paper takes time.

Hi Bagard, I just can't believe they would do that! I mean, we still have to write on paper sometimes. I know I do. But you know.. everything is going electronic. Docs don't even write prescriptions anymore.. it's all done electronically on a laptop and sent to the pharmacy of their choice. I still make out my shopping list by hand, but I know most people just type it up and print it or put it in their notebooks on their phones. I've done that before. I never thought that handwriting would be obsolete. Wow!

Now I'm remembering this sentence 'Skillful hands make a clever head'. Imagine if nobody is able to take a pen and write with their hands. You will lose the skills. You will be lazy - It's only my opinion. I think it would lose willpower. Writing must not be eliminated and people should be able to do both - writing and typing.

If there people will increase the speed of writing our brains will explode. Jocking. I think is very useful to learn, to study, to know cursive writing. Just look at chinese cursive writing. There is an artistic way to think, to see the world, to understand deeper things around us. I believe cursive writing is very important to keep our souls, our spirit alive. We need to know to make more things slowly. Nowadays all things are very fast: cars, computers, classes. We need to take a look, to have a break. Our brains, hands are natural things. We are not robots. So, if we want to remain human being, natural, we need to keep cursive writing. For example I learn to write in English with cursive writing. I love to write on pace of paper with my hand. There I am myself. On keyboard... we are like machines, robots. And there on cursive writing each of us have very different letters, we are different. So there will be a big diversity of life. If all of us will use only keyboard to write, we'll be same. No diferences. We'll look like robots... Please teach cursive write to keep our souls, our personality, or characters alive!

Others have covered the practical ways that cursive writing is used, but besides that, it just seems like a shame to lose yet another skill. We have lost so many over the last century or so. Looking over the arts, hobbies and so on, it seems that creativity is losing ground and I can't help but wonder if the loss of motor skills has something to do with it. If a child isn't trained to use those skills, how does that affect the development of the brain? Yet another experiment or another step in the dumbing down of America?

I had heard this earlier this summer, or another state is also doing the same, I am not sure. The other excuse they gave was that most people have illegible hand writing anyway and that there are other things that children need to learn in school that would be of more value. People will still continue to print, and printing would be their legal signature. Without power, people would still print, or they would drag out those old manual typewriters. However, I do not agree with all of the reasoning. I think like art, cursive writing is a necessary embellishment to our lives. It gives us reason to look for beauty. I have never heard people complimented for their beautiful printing. I do not know a lot about brain development, but I would also guess that learning cursive develops synapses that otherwise do not develop. I think this just means that people will have even less legible hand writing, because it is faster than printing and they will do something to join their letters together so that they may write more quickly.

Whether or not people plan to using cursive writing for other than a signature, in my view it is part of our history and should be common knowledge. What if there were a prolonged power out, think of the time it would take for people to communicate and/or keep records if they had to block print every letter.

hi I know there have been big changes but still we all do sign our names on document using cursive script and a pen so would that not be kept as most adults already know cursive script; l do hope this does not completely abolish cursive script.We would have to have a different way to sign our names then.I think we still need it in some places.

I suppose they will go back to the thumb impression days which incidentally is more authentic as no one can copy that unlike copying signatures. Having said that I really wonder how one could manage communicating if there are no typewriters or pc.s around when an urgent need is felt. Indiana knows better!

i dont think they teach cursive writing in us schools anymore either. i remember when i was in the 2nd grade and having a hard time grasping the cursive concept my teacher encouraged me by saying that i had to learn cursive because eventually thats all that people would write in. that eventually no one would even use print manuscript anymore. eventually i was able to learn cursive and i like it. my cursive writing is rather pretty if i may say so myself. i plan on still writing in cursive thats another persons problem if they cant read it.