Stop Teaching Handwriting

[teacups]

Interesting read.

I'll add my opinion first... all kids should learn handwriting, but the ritual of drilling it into the kids repeatedly to attempt perfection is a silly waste of time and energy. Teach the kids, review it... but dont give them a freaking complex about it! Get on with other important topics that they also need to know.

http://www.good.is/?p=8133

 

[golfgal]

They have been talking about this since I was in college. Our kids learned cursive but they have never been required to use it in class. Our oldest prints everything except when he signs his name on something, DD prints mostly but will use cursive for some things. DS13 does a little of both-his cursive is much nicer then his printing but he prefers to print. For any papers they have to turn in they have to type them now so cursive isn't really necessary.

 

[clarabelle]

My DD is in a private school where almost EVERYTHING has to be in cursive during the 4th grade year.

Then -they never use it again.

 

[7165red]

I went to Catholic school the nuns really taught us to write. I can't really print well until this day. We had to hold the pen a certain way. Now I see kids holding a pen in a claw like fashion & I remember when that nun came by I have to laugh. I'm not sorry. Today I have nice hand writing even if it is out of style.

 

[teacups]

I hope people dont start taking it to the extreme of not teaching it at all though. There is a balance... expecting perfection should be thrown out the window.

 

[Aurora63]

Kids absolutely need to learn handwriting!

I teach 1st grade. I give handwrtiting for morning work, but rarely have time to really teach it. There are kids who have no idea how to hold a pencil, or how to form the letters. They do need to be taught that much. I don't think it should take a lot of time, or cause a lot of stress. But now, kids don't even get basic instruction in handwriting. And for some kids, it can help clear up some letter confusions...say, if they confuse b and d, you can overteach one of them, say the b, give them something to say when they make the b (stick and a circle), you've taught them how to make it and also helped to clear up a confusion (hopefully!!)

Anyway, there is just no time in the day anymore, and it's a shame.

 

[KirstenB]

Absolutely teach printing, but cursive...ehhh...not so much. The only time I use cursive is to sign my name. I was watching the Christmas Story movie a couple of days ago, and noticed the teacher's neat handwriting on the board. It was like a 30+ year flashback!! I can remember a lot of 3rd grade being devoted to cursive. Line after line of the letter ___, until it filled that lined green paper.

 

[diz8297]

I am an adult w/horrible handwriting. My husband has horrible handwriting. My kids.....have horrible handwriting. And they have had miserable experiences in school because of it. Frankly, I am doing quite well thank you even w/horrible handwriting. We have computers now and there are more important things facing our education system!! Should they know basic cursive. Sure. Then, move on for heaven's sake!!!

 

[SnowWhite607]

I teach kindergarten in a private school and we follow the ABEKA program. We are required to teach handwriting every other day. Letter sound one day, handwriting the letter the following day.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I see no problem with teaching children to write well.

Sounds to me like the same, "Why teach them to add when they can use a calculator?" philosophy.

When you strive for perfection and fall short, you're still doing pretty well.

When you strive for mediocrity and fall short, you just suck.

Aim high, do your best - that's what I believe we should teach our children.

 

[DVC Sadie]

I see no problem with teaching children to write well.

Sounds to me like the same, "Why teach them to add when they can use a calculator?" philosophy.

When you strive for perfection and fall short, you're still doing pretty well.

When you strive for mediocrity and fall short, you just suck.

Aim high, do your best - that's what I believe we should teach our children.

Hey, great post and I agree!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

My daughter is in thrid grade and her teacher said that after the Christmas break she will make then write in cursive and then 4th grade is nothing but cursive.
My daughters both have terrible handwriting and personally I don't make a big deal out of their grade.

We are in a computer aged world now. I don't even print out my signature at work anymore, i just press a button onthe computer and there it is for me.

 

[kidzmom3]

they do not teach cursive writing AT ALL in our school district. The only thing they teach is your signature during the "life skills" check writing lesson.

 

[bookgirl]

I see no problem with teaching children to write well.

Sounds to me like the same, "Why teach them to add when they can use a calculator?" philosophy.

When you strive for perfection and fall short, you're still doing pretty well.

When you strive for mediocrity and fall short, you just suck.

Aim high, do your best - that's what I believe we should teach our children.

Yep I agree. Kids don't have to have perfect handwriting but really they should at least have legible handwriting AND printing. Not all communication is done on computer and frankly if you send someone to the store with the list, soup and soap are rarely interchangable.

Besides how many grade school kids have PDA's. Paper and pencil people, you never know when batteries go obsolete and technology really does crash and burn.

 

[mom2cinderella]

I don't mind the kids learning cursive. What I object to is how picky our school is on how the letters are formed. And the inevitable "Mom, you don't do your Q's right".

Michele

 

[Anewman]

Yes cursive can be very pretty... but not really comparable to basic math as a necessity.

I cant think of a single ADULT BUSINESS type use where cursive would be preferred over nice legible printing. With school budgets being cut everywhere, why do we continue to waste time and money on this????

Maybe make it an elective or extra curricular, but some kids would be better off using every school hour on real subjects.

 

[TheZue]

The one big benifit I see to cursive is it is faster for writing. And most people when they really get going have a bit of a mix that is faster than either.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

My mom is a 3rd grade teacher. I'll try to get her perspective.

But here's mine.

Growing up, my handwriting was never good enough. My teachers were okay with it, but my mom..the other 3rd grade teacher, was not. She still gives me crap about my handwriting.

Guess what. It's my identity. Why the CRAP should I write like everyone else!!??

Guess what else, I don't DRAW like everyone else too. I CAN'T draw! Pretty sure those things are a little connected. That's like expecting everyone to excell in music and then drilling it into their head that they're not 'working right'. Some people CAN'T! (FTR, I am great with music)

Meh. AGREED!

 

[C.Ann]

When I first learned how to write cursive in third grade I absolutely loved it.. Loved the repeated drills and loved the art of perfection.. Still to this day, I love to write in cursive.. I have a large number of pen pals who I write letters to that are usually a minimum of 25 pages long - all in cursive.. I could do it on the computer - and save myself a ton of time - but I just love to write!! I even obtained a job a number of years ago based solely on the "perfection" of my cursive handwriting because it was imperative to the job being done.. I have always received compliments on my penmanship - to the point where it eventually gets annoying - LOL - because to me, it's "nothing special".. But I also realize that not everyone loves to write the way I do..

However, one of my DD's had a problem with hand/eye coordination in school - as well as lazy eye and dyslexia - which made it extremely difficult to learn cursive and to do it neatly.. When she was being taught how to write cursive in the 4th grade, her teacher was an absolute witch about it! There had to be a space - the width of her index finger - between each word - and if the penmanship wasn't perfect (and I do mean perfect) - DD would receive a zero as a grade - even though all of the answers were 100% correct.. I finally went to the principal (teacher was totally uncooperative) and got the situation resolved, but still to this day she absolutely hates to write in cursive - is very self-conscious about it - and will only sign her name in cursive..

So - should they learn it? Yes.. Does it have to be "perfect"? No.. DGD has to do all of her homework in cursive right now (5th grade), but from what I understand, next year they will want everything typed..

I wouldn't want to see them do away with it completely, but I don't think they need to spend as much time - or exert as much pressure on the kids as what I witnessed with my DD..

 

[goofyernmost]

Kids absolutely need to learn handwriting!

If for no other reason we have hundreds of years of usage of cursive. How are they supposed to read historical documents, etc. without having been taught.
It would make them almost selectively illiterate. That can't be good.