I saw a story headline yesterday that the public school system in Augusta, Georgia is considering eliminating cursive writing from its curriculum.
OMG, I thought.
I was taught cursive writing and penmanship in third through fifth grades. I remember my school principal, Mr. Hillegas, visiting our class every year to exhort the importance of good penmanship. He had the most beautiful handwriting. So did all of my teachers. I was jealous of those few students that were good at it, too. Every class had one or two students that the teacher just couldn’t rave enough about. These show-offs were always singled out and piled with compliments and had samples of their writing posted on the bulletin board to show the rest of us just how crappy we were.
So, how much do I write with my “fair hand” these days, I wondered. Let me look at my journal that I no longer use since I have a blog. Hmmm, all printed. Grocery list – printed. Story ideas written on scraps of paper, strewn all over my desk and in my purse – printed. To-do list at work – printed. I do have ONE piece of paper here that I have written in cursive. Written on it are the words Declaration of Independence and Timothy Matlack -words that I plan to use in just a minute in this very blog post. Kinda, ironic, isn’t it? I guess if I was of a different generation, I would have been taught proper texting and might have printed doi and tm mtlck on my paper instead, saving myself a whole lot of time.
Heck, come to think of it, if I wasn’t so old-fashioned I wouldn’t have all these papers anyway. All of these notes would be encrypted on my iphone, ready for me to peruse securely with a mere tap of my finger.
Is cursive writing a dying form of communication?
The word cursive comes from the Latin, meaning flowing. Back in the day, it helped us move from labor intensive hieroglyphics to syllabic letters. We could connect these letters and speed up the whole writing process. And, cursive writing reduced the number of times we had to dip our quills, thereby reducing those unsightly ink smudges.
Before the typewriter, professional documents were written in cursive writing. People that had a fair hand could made a living utilizing their penmanship skills. Timothy Matlack, patriot and statesman, wasn’t paid to write with his fair hand, the final fair copy (aka parchment copy) of our Declaration of Independence.
Which reminds me, I still write my own John Hancock in cursive.
I miss receiving letters in the mail written by friend or family member in long hand. And, somehow, thank you notes seem rather impersonal if done on a keyboard.
idk, wdyt?
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NOOooOOo! Keep the cursive. That was my favorite class. 🙂 I remember the nuns telling me, “You write too hard” in Catholic grade school. It drives me crazy when I can’t read someone’s hand writing. It’s still a form of communication, just maybe now we should add another variation to that part of the class to represent current communication: “social media: keeping it in between the lines w/your photos.” 🙂 “Your lined cursive paper practice might end up in the trash, but not your trashy photos online.” HA!
OMG! Catholic school? Those nuns ever whack your knuckles for not doing it right?
Heather, dear friend, you do know I was joking, I hope – just felt like making a little fun of those awful stereotypes! I always heard a rumor that our principal had a big paddle with holes drilled in it to make a paddling hurt more! I don’t think he really had one of those!
Uh … don’t think I was not frightened. I heard STORIES from my mother at boarding school. I had the best handwriting in class. And uh … no offense taken, ha! Girl you know me, teasing is a sign of love in my world. 😉 There is NO way I would mess with a teaching nun, NO WAY. Their looks were like getting whooped w/a ruler. *irish accent* “HeaaaaathArrr BrooOWwn, keep quiet back thar! … Am I gonna have to sePaaay-rate ya?”
Speaking of paddles, I lived with buddies that were in a fraternity. I still need brain bleach from the paddling marks I have seen. 😉
FYI, girls usually got off much easier than the boys in cursive class. I always felt bad for the boys who would have to sit through some of their recess to get their “cursive” *purddified* …
Why did the girls get off easier? Is it because they were better? Or EXPECTED to be better? I think that was true in my school, too! The boys always had it better in science, though! Of course, because they understood about gears and such!
OMG! You are sooooooo funny!
Great post! I have to agree about typewritten thank-ya notes.. but they are so much easier to write!
Except for my signature, I don’t know when the last time I wrote cursive
Gene, I know! I rarely ever write cursivce these days! But, it is a beautiful art – kinda like calligraphy, yes?
I take all my notes in cursive otherwise I wouldn’t get all the information written down. Of course I could use a laptop, iphone or Ipad. I think penmanship should be continued. You never know when you’ll need it. Thavy has beautiful penmanship and she’s only in the third grade.
I find that I must rewrite my notes at work – first draft is always disaster!
Do you rewrite in cursive or print? See, I print unless I’m in a hurry! So, a rewrite for me would be printed, never cursive!
I rewrite an actual note for patient chart in cursive. But I usually print on sticky notes that will end up in the trash.
When I’m in a hurry, I write cursive – very fast, very sloppy. Sometimes, I can’t even read my notes!
Actually to this day, all Torahs are written by a scribe, in Hebrew by hand, on parchment!
In fifth grade my paper was chosen to be on the bulletin board of the Penguin Parade of Perfect Penmanship! I don’t know why it was a Penguin Parade but I was very proud.
Show off!