Does your child's school teach cursive?

[WeLoveLilo05]

Does your child's school teach cursive? Do you think it is necessary to learn? If your child's school is not teaching it, are you going to take it upon yourself to teach your child?

My cousins are 2 years apart and both attend the same school. The younger one learned cursive last year (in 2nd grade) while the older one never did because it was left up to the teacher to decide if they wanted to teach it (district's decision). He is now in 5th grade and that teacher wants her students to write in cursive, however bc his previous teachers never taught it, he and another boy are starting to learn it now.

My daughter saw my other cousin writing in cursive (she is in 2nd grade now) and wanted to learn it so they were writing their letter and she figured out how to write her name, not they best, but its legable. She was writing it that way on the top of her papers at school and the teacher wrote "Print Please" at the top. My daughter said the teacher said they will learn it next year. I kind of felt like maybe it discouraged her a bit though, as she was excited that she knew how to write her name in cursive. And I am hoping it is taught next year because, while I understand that we are moving into a technological world, how are you going to be able to sign for a package, your drivers license, checks, etc?

 

[aprilgail2]

They do not teach it in my daughters school- she is now in 8th grade and really cant write in script. She signs her checks more like printing without picking up the pen between letters LOL. All her class assignments have to be handed in either typed or emailed to the teachers. Only thing she writes is for math.

 

[jennyjinx3]

My oldest DD is in grade 3 and the teacher is teaching them some cursive. She did also say that it is up to the teacher but she thinks it is important as there is a lot of teachers / others who will write in cursive and the children have to learn how to read it. I think it is sad that they are no longer placing any importance on learning it.

 

[KristiMc]

Both of my sons were taught cursive in 2nd grade. My oldest is now in 6th grade and has to do his weekly spelling tests in cursive and in pen. I think that is a little much. He has not had to keep up on the cursive every year though so he is still not great at it.

My youngest is in 3rd and usually has to do his spelling words in cursive for homework each week.

 

[aprilgail2]

My oldest DD is in grade 3 and the teacher is teaching them some cursive. She did also say that it is up to the teacher but she thinks it is important as there is a lot of teachers / others who will write in cursive and the children have to learn how to read it. I think it is sad that they are no longer placing any importance on learning it.

My brother teaches high school and says many kids don't know how to write in script and also he won't accept papers written in script- they either have to print it or type it, he says its to hard to read if not printed or typed.

 

[JessicaR]

Nope no cursive being taught.

 

[emer95]

I teach Zaner Bloser cursive to my 3rd graders. There was a great deal of debate in our district as to whether or not we should keep teaching it, but we ultimately decided we should. Kids need to know how to sign their names at the very least. Plus I have found that some kids who have sloppy printing have gorgeous cursive. Most adults end up with their own style of writing anyway. My everyday writing is a blend of cursive and printing.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

We homeschool and we are teaching cursive. It's so sad that there is no importance put in it. How will they read things written in cursive writing??? Old historical writings, letters kept from relatives from long ago, etc.? It just doesn't feel right that the teachers get to choose. I can understand it being hard to read sometimes from various students, but still, they should be able to read it.

My husband said, "who in the world writes in cursive anymore?" I said, "have you ever read a thing I've written?" LOL

 

[Art 1]

Of course.

 

[*JoGo*]

Mine learn Zaner Bloser in second grade.
Third grade they have to write everything in cursive.
Fourth grade they have to write all handwriting assignments in cursive along with some English and other assignments.
I think in fifth they can do whatever.

 

[Sabeking]

My kids learned cursive in 2nd grade. They have beautiful handwriting because that is what was expected from then on. Maybe kids use laptops in college to take notes these days but I could not imagine not taking notes in cursive "back in the day" as opposed to print. Just me.

Curious; why have some schools stopped teaching cursive?

 

[Jaya]

My granddaughter came to me in the second grade and asked "Gramma, can you teach me curtsey?" So I showed her how to curtsey. She said, "NO GRAMMA...I WANT TO LEARN CURTSEY!!!" I said honey that IS how to curtsey. Eyes rolling, she said "No, that's not curtsey.... curtsey is just like letters but they're kinda ROUND." Well, they didn't teach cursive in grade school and now she's getting ready to graduate from college heading for med school and she still can't write cursive very well. Sigh. Well, at least that's ONE doctor whose prescriptions will be readable, at least.

 

[hellow]

During my student teaching in a 9th grade class a few years ago, I wrote something on the board in cursive and the students told me they didn't know how to read what I wrote. So that tells me it has not been taught for a while in our state. Kinda sad, but I guess most papers are done on the computer now anyway, so maybe it isn't a big deal anymore.

 

[torinsmom]

The reason a lot of teachers/schools do not teach cursive anymore is because so much more is expected of students than in the past. The things I learned in 2nd grade, I am expected to teach my kindergartners. Some things has to go, and since most kids are using mostly computers by high school, cursive has been a victim.

That being said, I teach PreK/K. Some of the Ks I had last year in PreK are way above level and I have introduced cursive. They practice one letter a day and then start combinations. I don't know how much will be allowed when they move up, but maybe they can practice it at home.

There are all kinds of cursive practice sheets online if you want to teach your child cursive at home.
This is the series I use. It breaks the letters down by the formation type.
http://www.kidzone.ws/cursive/index.htm

 

[RadioNate]

My DS went to 4 elementary schools in 4 states, none taught cursive. His 4th grade teacher helped them learn to sign their names but it was a 1 day thing at the end of the year.

My DSs handwriting is horrible. Print & "signature." He's in Jr High now & the type many assignments.

 

[joviroxx]

Yes and up to 7th grade, they had to hand in all assignments in cursive.

When DS opened up his checking account, the account manager was shocked that he actually had a signature. How will these kids sign legal documents? Are we going to go back to the time with fingerprints?

When we went to Washington DC, I would have been sad if they wouldn't have been able to read the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

 

[kimblebee]

My daughter did not learn handwriting at school. She apparently took it upon herself to learn when she was in grade 4. I remember learning it in grade 2.

 

[robinb]

My DD is in 8th grade and she learned cursive in 2nd or maybe 3rd grade. She doesn't use it though!

 

[PirateSnowmen]

I'm in college, and I learned cursive back in 3rd grade. Once we learned it, we had to write everything in cursive from then on. If you turned something in without writing in cursive, it was given back for you to re-do in cursive. I lived there through 6th grade, and we had to use cursive on every hand-written assignment in every grade past 3rd. My friends who stayed at that school said they had to use cursive for everything through 8th grade. I didn't ask if they had to use it in high school.

Honestly, I HATE writing in cursive. It just doesn't come naturally to me. Even after having to write in cursive for everything for over 3 years, it just never felt right to me. I can read cursive just fine and I do have a cursive signature, but I try to avoid having to write in cursive at all costs. For some reason, when writing in cursive I write really slow. That's just how it's always been. I've practiced writing faster, but I just can't. I can write very fast in print though.

 

[HelenePA]

Yep in 2nd grade. My son is learning it now. Once they learn it they must write in cursive all the time. Spelling words, tests, essays, book reports. His cursive handwriting is MUCH nicer than his printing.