Some lament loss of cursive but teachers shrug

The Evansville Courier Press ^ | October 12, 2006 | Margaret Pressler

[Clintonfatigued]

The computer keyborad helped kill shorthand, and now it's threatening to kill off longhand.

When handwritten essays were intorduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2006, just 15 percent of the 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive. The rest? They printed. Block letters.

[caseinpoint]

If you are really lazy, you can write forwards one line and backwards the next. No more wasted time moving the hand back to just one side. ;o) I also have done the spiral backwards but it bothers me not to have a side margin like I wanted. Top spirals are my favorites now. In college I took calligraphy. Had some trouble with cursive there, even with a leftie quill pen.

[RightWhale]

Saw some ancient stone-carved writing that went back and forth like that, as the oxen plough. It was in Greek, yet, which we normally see just left to right. Apparently the rules have always been flexible. Those who carve writing into stone are probably not particularly lazy unless that's all they do.

[Old Student]

"There's this wonderful device called a notebook. It needs no batteries and can be transported in a purse, or even in your coat pocket. It never crashes or becomes technologically obsolete. Best of all, you can be equipped with a notebook and pen for under ten dollars. People who haven't tried it don't know what they're missing."

They can also be read in bright daylight, unlike, my Palm and laptop. However, none of them work well in the rain. For that, you need stone tablets...

[mware]

When I see handwriting that's written in perfect "schoolteacher" cursive, I think the writer must be a dull unimaginative person -- just like most public school teachers.

Ouch

[Old Student]

Not to mention that using Roman numerals to do arithmetic makes you truly appreciate Hindu-Arabic numerals...

[joylyn]

I missed the era of writing on stone tablets, but just barely. When dealing with snippy techies from AOL I tell them that I learned to write in grade school using a pen that we dipped in an ink well -- it's true!

My big problem with penmanship class was that we were expected to hold our wrists so flat to the desk that the teacher could balance a half dollar coin on them. This was supposed to prove that you were moving your arm, not your fingers, thus avoiding cramps. I never mastered that lesson.

[aruanan]

Some lament loss of cursive but teachers shrug

Those shrugging teachers are those whose cursive handwriting is crap. Just because the car has replaced most walking and cycling, there's no reason not to walk or cycle any longer. In some ways they are the more healthful and pleasant way of getting around. If people are going to print anyway, then there's no reason not to learn cursive. Even the worst looking cursive seems to be more legible than hastily written printing. Besides, unless it's compared to italic printing, cursive is just beautiful.