OT: Should cursive still be taught in schools

[bac2therac]

Was reading an editorial in the Courier News the other day where the op ed board said that the NJ legislators introducing a bill to make sure cursive writing is still taught is unnecessary as cursive wrting skills are no longer needed and schools should be spending their time teaching other things. I was actually taken aback that kids are not taught cursive in over half the schools in NJ anymore. I dont have kids and have been oblivious to any changes. Yes I realize now more is done on computers and less cursive is necessary but gee what happens if a kid sees a letter from his grandmother or sees a document from the past and they have no clue how to read it.

I say keep cursive writing in our schools

 

[vkj91]

My kids still learn it in school. If that change blows your mind you don't even want to know what else they aren't teaching these kids.

 

[Jim_from_RU]

Was reading an editorial in the Courier News the other day where the op ed board said that the NJ legislators introducing a bill to make sure cursive writing is still taught is unnecessary as cursive wrting skills are no longer needed and schools should be spending their time teaching other things. I was actually taken aback that kids are not taught cursive in over half the schools in NJ anymore. I dont have kids and have been oblivious to any changes. Yes I realize now more is done on computers and less cursive is necessary but gee what happens if a kid sees a letter from his grandmother or sees a document from the past and they have no clue how to read it.

I say keep cursive writing in our schools

I agree.

 

[bac2therac]

My kids still learn it in school. If that change blows your mind you don't even want to know what else they aren't teaching these kids.

I dont know much about common core but where Ive seen examples it seems very strange

tell me some things they arent learning that we used to learn..I bet the way US history is taught has changed alot

 

[Block R]

I'll be the first to disagree. Although my oldest was taught cursive, I thought it was a complete waste of time given where we're heading technologically. I would be happy to see it removed from the curriculum.

 

[retired711]

It's not always possible or easy to use a laptop to take notes on, say, a lecture, and students need some way of doing that. I hated the Palmer method I was taught in school, and I am terrible at it, but it seems to me that cursive in some form is worth teaching, although not for all the time I had to devote to it in 3rd grade.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Yes, children should learn how to write.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Cursive is a complete waste of time.

 

[FanuSanu52]

Outside of signing my name, I've found cursive to be completely useless in adult life. My work depends on writing and taking notes. I find print easier to use and to read later.

I know others I went to school with feel differently, though, and do use it. I say, make it an elective and let parents decide.

 

[RUInsanity]

While your kids are spending all that time practicing their cursive, I'll have mine work on mathematical logic problem solving and reading comprehension.

 

[Caliknight]

The private schools I know of still teach it.

Sometime in the near future a "progressive" politician will use it as rhetoric against the 1%.

 

[WhiteBus]

The bigger question is should typing be taught in schools? And if so should it be all 10 fingers or just the two thumbs?

 

[koleszar]

Outside of signing my name, I've found cursive to be completely useless in adult life. My work depends on writing and taking notes. I find print easier to use and to read later.

I know others I went to school with feel differently, though, and do use it. I say, make it an elective and let parents decide.

How do you sign your name with an X. I could see it now with this generation, please make your mark here sir. Hell in time they probably won't even know how to hold a pen or pencil.

 

[Upstream]

..I bet the way US history is taught has changed alot

My nephew is a history teacher, and I was completely shocked at how the teaching of history has changed since I was a kid. Now history includes stuff like the collapse of the Soviet Union. We never had to learn about that when I was in school.

 

[WhiteBus]

My nephew is a history teacher, and I was completely shocked at how the teaching of history has changed since I was a kid. Now history includes stuff like the collapse of the Soviet Union. We never had to learn about that when I was in school.

Do they still do nuclear drills at schools. Where you get under your desk, curl up in a ball and kiss your ass goodbye?

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Complete waste of time. Things change old timers. Does anyone really think humans will still be using cursive signatures to identify ourselves 20 years from now?

 

[LevaosLectures]

Was reading an editorial in the Courier News the other day where the op ed board said that the NJ legislators introducing a bill to make sure cursive writing is still taught is unnecessary as cursive wrting skills are no longer needed and schools should be spending their time teaching other things. I was actually taken aback that kids are not taught cursive in over half the schools in NJ anymore. I dont have kids and have been oblivious to any changes. Yes I realize now more is done on computers and less cursive is necessary but gee what happens if a kid sees a letter from his grandmother or sees a document from the past and they have no clue how to read it.

That's how the world works. Things change. I had to take a paleography seminar in graduate school just so I could read archival documents from the 16th century. The forms of written communication evolve just like the language itself.

I agree it's nice and useful to known cursive. Nobody doubts that. The question is given limited time and resources does it make the cut of required curriculum?

 

[WhiteBus]

That's how the world works. Things change. I had to take a paleography seminar in graduate school just so I could read archival documents from the 16th century. The forms of written communication evolve just like the language itself.

I agree it's nice and useful to known cursive. Nobody doubts that. The question is given limited time and resources does it make the cut of required curriculum?

My very first class at Rutgers was how to fill out Fortran cards to get a computer to answer what you wanted to know. In one year it was apparent that was a complete waste of time, tuition and credits towards my degree.

 

[koleszar]

Complete waste of time. Things change old timers. Does anyone really think humans will still be using cursive signatures to identify ourselves 20 years from now?

OK there Buck Rogers in the 25th century.:rolleyes:

 

[mal359]

I was taught cursive.

I don't think it's a waste of time at all. If taught at the proper age (Kindergarten/first grade, when I learned it), cursive can really hammer down spelling and basic English syntax.

 

[iReC89]

I don't really see the need for cursive to be taught in schools.Its a tool, but not one they are likely to use much to communicate with others.Besides, it's hard to read .

 

[mal359]

I don't really see the need for cursive to be taught in schools.Its a tool, but not one they are likely to use much to communicate with others.Besides, its hard to read.

*It's

 

[T2Kplus10]

The private schools I know of still teach it.

Sometime in the near future a "progressive" politician will use it as rhetoric against the 1%.

God bless private schools!

Cursive writing is used more than long-handed division or multiplication. Not teaching how to write is like using calculators for math. Just stupid and another reason to avoid the public school system.

 

[WhiteBus]

*It's

Please stop. He bolded his post and used a big font so it must be important.....no???[roll]

 

[Beancounter88]

I thought cursive was a waste of time until my daughter started getting handwritten recruiting letters from college coaches. It does make it a lot more personal - gotta admit.

I'm more shocked they don't teach more life skills stuff to kids in HS. Every kid should have to take personal finance (to learn about bank accounts, insurance, taxes, etc), home improvement and cooking (yes cooking). These are things we have to do every day but it's not required.

 

[RU-05]

My cursive was always absolutely terrible. Luckily I never have to use it. (My signature could be described as a type of cursive though experts have varying opinions).

 

[RU85inFla]

My wife is a middle school English teacher. The kids all learn to write, just not cursive. Waste of time. If you are concerned with them taking notes you should teach shorthand, not cursive.

 

[graystork]

Should they use quill pens while practicing it? Or are metal pens with ink wells ok?

 

[Riceonthebanks]

Get rid of it. Also get rid of the summer off schedule. Kids aren't harvesting crops anymore. We should have year round school. They haven't been doing it for a lifetime. Cursive and summers off are complete anachronisms.

 

[zoby]

They don't teach Roman Numerals either.

 

[SkilletHead2]

Hasn't been taught in NZ for a long time. All the exams I get are printed.

I think it's still good to teach as a lot of what we do is still handwritten, and is does save time. It takes very little time to teach.

Having said that, Skillet Jr. thinks it's an utter waste of time. He's 37 and says he never uses it.

My cursive is very good. Learned from my grandfather.

 

[WhiteBus]

They don't teach Roman Numerals either.

I'm the XXIV person to point that out

 

[T2Kplus10]

They don't teach Roman Numerals either.

And an entire generation will never know what Super Bowl it is.

 

[FanuSanu52]

God bless private schools!

Cursive writing is used more than long-handed division or multiplication. Not teaching how to write is like using calculators for math. Just stupid and another reason to avoid the public school system.

Why? Do you break out a lot of cursive on the daily? Or are you just looking for another reason to be a private school elitist?

Anyway, if no one knows how to read cursive, they won't be the wiser when Big (shady) Pharma uses it to list all those horrifying side effects :cool:

 

[mikebal9]

Absolute waste of time. People complain that our kids aren't learning all these important things and falling behind the rest of the world, and you want to waste even more time on cursive? I literally never use it. Signing your name? As if you use proper cursive to do that. My signature looks like a bird flew by with a pen in its beak.

 

[LC-88]

Cursive is a complete waste of time now, and forty years ago when I was forced to learn it. We don't use feather quill pens and ink anymore. Block print rules. Even computers understand it.

 

[MikeR0102]

 

[R1776U]

voted yes... only so they can sign their name.. other than that.. cursive is useless

 

[wheezer]

The bigger question is should typing be taught in schools? And if so should it be all 10 fingers or just the two thumbs?

-------------
I have often said that the one class of typing I took in high school was the most valuable course for the future.....

sure, many out there have become pretty adept at typing with two fingers, but if you took the old time typing course, learning to use all ten fingers without looking at the keys is by far, much easier..... my occupation after high school required a lot of typing, so there ya go.

 

[Caliknight]

Why teach art? That is completely useless. How about French? Hardly anyone outside of France speaks French, why even offer it? Not going to help you professionally. History? Utter waste of time. To major in it is laughable. Social studies? Even more so. If the standard is STEM and what surrounds it, there is a lot to gut before you get to something learned in what amounts to probably 20 hours like cursive writing.