In USA schools, Cursive Rules...

I'm trying to remember if I was ever told *why* we were ever learning to write in cursive when I was in elementary school. I remember wondering why the heck we were, though, considering that I was terrible at it. Thank goodness there's less and less things we have to sign these days, because it takes a long time for me to write a signature and it doesn't look very good when I'm finally done. Oh well, I have my strengths and my weaknesses I suppose.

It was the truth when I went to school. We used it.

Nope when I went to school we had what was called penmenship! and we practiced to make our hand writeing as nice as we could. THe schools taking it out is almost to back in the 1800 or later when people couldnt even sign thier names just made and X. Hand writting is and rt to me nd I do think they need to keep it in schools een if you never use it but to write checks!

I don't remember being told this lie in schools and I have to also admit that I really don't use cursive at all in my life at all. What I do find to be very interesting, however, is the fact that they don't even teach cursive in the schools in my county any more. My daughter is going to be staring fourth grade next week and she wouldn't even know how to sign her name if it wasn't for the fact that I've taught her how to do it. By the time that I was her age, I knew how to write everything in cursive and she struggles with her first name that is only seven letters long.

I use it all the time when taking notes, writing one letter after the other would take ages! And most of my pupils use it too. No computers for tests (the formulas and drawings would take ages) so they have to write. They have to learn greek letters too, not only cursive :-) What do you use when you write then?

Nah. I went to Catholic school way back in the early 50's. We were taught to write before we could print in first grade. I don't think they had kindergarten back then. It was called the "Palmer Method". It was difficult for "lefties". My older sister is left handed and in the 40's they made the left handers write with their right hand. Terrible. I think kids should at least learn it and then if they choose not to use it, okay. At least they know how. Interesting topic. I wonder what others think, people with kids in school. Just my thoughts.

I had to learn cursive in the fifth grade back in 1950s. It was called penmanship. We were told how to sit with both feet flat on the floor, backs straight, and both arm on the desk. We were taught to move our whole arm too. Some kids cold write very nice and neat. No matter how hard I tried Mine was always sloppy looking. Both my kids who are in their late forties and my grand kids some in the middle twenties also had to learn cursive and we all used it all the way through school.When my 48 year old son was a Sargent in the military he had to print because to many could not write so it was readable. We use our computers for a lot of things but my family still use cursive for many things too. Grocery lists,writing and signing cards and note to each other. We take modern technology for granted but some day it just might be gone. so I think that every one should learn to write in printing and cursive. It is an art form. We were ta8ught a lot of things not taught today. We had a lot of classes available not available for students today. it is a real same too because those things will be lost and gone forever.

We started using it in fifth grade and kept up all the way through. However in some places they are no longer teaching it. They are teaching keyboarding instead. Lots of classroom time spent on learning about technology..

You hardly used it in high school? We used it a lot, as well as in college, although using a computer in college was the main way we communicated.

Cursive was the boss back when I was in school, except my handwriting was so bad I couldn't read it so I went back to printing.

I wasn't told this lie. I learned cursive and was proud of it. I did alot of writing. Being a writer I spent MANY hours writing. I now have a computer but still write alittle. I do sign my name on my credit card receipts and on checks when I pay bills. I know there is less and less need for the writing but it is something basic we all need to know.

There's a lot of discussion over it even in other nations regading English writing. Someone used to argue much ealier as the computers were just entering the iInstitute that a time will come no one will write but type. yet writing cursdive has its own purpose to develop the skill and transmit personality

I am pretty much out of the loop on what is taught in school these days, but I was taught cursive writing in early elementary school. I used it throughout my education, including college; although, in college we also had to type our papers and such. Way back then, the good old days, we did not use computers; we used pen and paper. I do not write nearly as much as I used to but I do still write letters and send cards and postcards. And yes, I use cursive handwriting.

We used cursive all the way through school--I had an electric typewriter in high school and college (and even that had a cursive setting!), so some of my papers were typed, but everything else was hand-written. And I am glad I learned cursive, because you can write so much faster than if you are using printing. I do a LOT of writing nowadays in my various professions and hobbies, but often I will still write the rough draft out on a legal pad--in cursive--because I find my thoughts flow better when I am writing rather than typing. It takes longer, I know, but the result is better. That being said, I think nowadays you may be right--in elementary school my kids were told they "had" to learn cursive and we spent many hours practicing their cursive writing. Now that they are in middle school, they don't need to use it at all! They can either print (by hand) their homework, or type it on the computer and print it out. I still think it is a good idea to learn the basics of cursive, though, because I do think it is a skill that teaches you to better organize your writing, or at least write neater. But I think it will not be taught in schools for much longer, unfortunately.