handwriting

I know I'm coming into this conversation very late, but I find it interesting. I don't remember when I last wrote a letter. All my written communication with family and friends is either by email or FB messages. I still send cards to some people (birthday or Christmas), but I usually print on those since my handwriting is hard to read. Even so, I write my signature in cursive (and so does DH).

But I know very few young people who use handwriting at all in this age of computers, and so forth. So I don't blame those school systems who have stopped teaching cursive or stopped emphasizing it in favor of keyboard skills. There's not enough time in the day for everything and, IMO, keyboard is now more important.

True, it means people in the near future will no longer have signatures, as we know them. And some, as feetlebaum points out, already don't. But I imagine they will be replaced by something else. I'm not sure what - a number, perhaps? A little scary for a couple of reasons. But I expect that's the way things will go and future generations won't think anything about it.

One other concern I've read about is that there are many historical documents written in longhand (think The Magna Carta and so forth) and people won't be able to read them. I admit, when I first heard that, I was alarmed. But then I realized that some of them have been transcribed into manuscript in various books and such. Still, perhaps, it would be a good idea for future historians to learn to read cursive. It may have to become a requirement for history majors or something like that.

In the end, I'm sure it will all work out...

My handwriting has become appalling over the last few years as I work and 'play' on the computer all day, every day. When I do write anything I find my brain works faster than my hand and I constantly make mistakes! It's rather worrying if handwriting lessons are phased out - we all need to write something at some point even if it's only cards - I was going to say cheques but even that's becoming a thing of the past! There was a time when a scanned signature was not valid - it still isn't in some countries such as India but with all the technology these days adding your signature to a document digitally is now becoming the norm too.

DGS, aged 5, is learning to write and right from the start is doing cursive writing. He wrote me a very interesting story about the Titanic at Christmas.

Both DGC do a lot of writing at school and write well.

My six year old grandson has beautiful handwriting in which he takes great pride. He never learned to print as the school begins the children on cursive writing straight away. His school encourages letter writing too, if any of the children are naughty they always have to write a letter of apology.

We have to remember that school age children and FE students are assessed using written exams, as are members of the medical profession of course to name but a few. Consequently, handwriting must be fluent, speedy and legible so must be taught explicitly. I am a handwriting tutor and a SEN consultant and give HW INSET in primary schools.

Did any of you also have to start with 'pot-hooks' which were the 'building blocks' of cursive writing? My GC don't seem to use lined paper to guide their writing. I know that mine would have been even worse if I hadn't had lined exercise books. It was so awful by the time I was 15, that my dad went out and bought a book on italic handwriting which surprised my teachers who had almost given up on me.

About teaching left- handed children. I do not agree with special pens, scissors etc. If you are left- handed, as I am, you would have to take all the special equipment with you wherever you go. Far better to make a good fist of using readily available right handed stuff. And no cheating by swopping knife and fork.

I love the technology that allows us to type, text etc but I still believe handwriting has a place and that using the technology should come second to being able to handwrite.

All 4 of my grandchildren ( even the 2 year old) send thank you letters that are handwritten. They're short, sweet and always decorated with stickers or drawings.

Equally they email me too.

I never send a typewritten letter, I always handwrite using a fountain pen . I think it shows I have taken time and trouble and really thought about what Im saying.

I totally see a place for computer generated letters but I will be sad if technology makes handwriting obsolete.

If you have ever, as a right-handed person, have ever tried to use left-handed scisssors, you will appreciate the frustration felt by a left-handed child trying to learn to use "ordinary" scissors.
I think the most important thing about teaching handwriting to left-handed children is not necessarily special pens, but teaching them to turn their paper to give a better angle. If they clasp hands in front of them, then align the long side of their paper with the writing arm, that gives a good angle at which to write without covering the words with their arm. I see so many left-handers "hooking" their wrists, which must use more muscles and be more uncomfortable.

There were no left- handed scissors in my day. You just had to adapt.
I also had to be aware not to smudge the ink when writing. To this day I always fill in crosswords etc. Right to left and read a magazine from the back.

I don't handwrite much these days, but oddly enough, everyone who sees my writing compliments me - and it's been the same all my life. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I do think that a page of my writing (sort of a bastardised italic) looks good! My daughters learned to write in France, where they still take graphology really seriously and use a fountain pen, but after a year in a London school their writing was diabolical. Almost made me cry

As even I can't read my writing, there's no point in my trying.

Yes, but. Galen, you are a doctor. You are expected to have illegible writing .