3 ms·

The secret is that American school doesn’t really bother itself with that much teaching. Nobody teaches children how to hold pens properly, cursive writing, etc

by vl 4y ago

The secret is that American school doesn’t really bother itself with that much teaching. Nobody teaches children how to hold pens properly, cursive writing, etc.

SoftTalker 4y ago
Yeah sad but true. I think cursive is still taught for a year or two in elementary school but after that it's not required and most kids just print or develop their own personal blend of printing/cursive handwriting. I still take notes by hand, on paper, using cursive. I prefer a quality wood pencil and a separate rubber-type eraser for note-taking. For writing text, typing is faster but for note-taking during lectures or presentations I find handwriting more effective, as I can quickly add drawings and arrows and other notation as needed.
- ghaff 4y ago
  I was taught Palmer script in grade school--always one of my worst classes. Basically can't do it any longer.
- naniwaduni 4y ago
  > I think cursive is still taught for a year or two in elementary school but after that it's not required and most kids just print or develop their own personal blend of printing/cursive handwriting. This is the natural result of teaching kids unnaturally and gratuitously ornate cursive forms for the sake of it, divorced from the utility that cursive writing is supposed to have. Handwriting forms serve two roles: to be written, and to be read. The point of cursive, outside of the immediate class, is that it optimizes for write time. If you teach people a cursive form that isn't faster to write than bespoke chicken-scratch, well, then it's no surprise they're not going to use it.
2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago
My teacher at that age did a spectacular job and was very attentive to my needs. I was ambidextrous and she made me pick a hand. I picked left. I'm left handed to this day.
seanhunter 4y ago
They don't teach engineering undergrad students how to use sliderules anymore either.[1] Technology changes. Literally noone other than maybe caligraphers, typeset designers and engravers needs to know how to use cursive writing anymore. It's gone from being essential for everyone to being an extreme niche. [1] My dad always had a sliderule until I was like 8 or 9 and his sliderule was replaced by an HP RPN calculator. He learned to use it as an undergrad chemical engineer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule

by vl 4y ago

The secret is that American school doesn’t really bother itself with that much teaching. Nobody teaches children how to hold pens properly, cursive writing, etc.

SoftTalker 4y ago

Yeah sad but true. I think cursive is still taught for a year or two in elementary school but after that it's not required and most kids just print or develop their own personal blend of printing/cursive handwriting. I still take notes by hand, on paper, using cursive. I prefer a quality wood pencil and a separate rubber-type eraser for note-taking. For writing text, typing is faster but for note-taking during lectures or presentations I find handwriting more effective, as I can quickly add drawings and arrows and other notation as needed.

ghaff 4y ago
I was taught Palmer script in grade school--always one of my worst classes. Basically can't do it any longer.
naniwaduni 4y ago
> I think cursive is still taught for a year or two in elementary school but after that it's not required and most kids just print or develop their own personal blend of printing/cursive handwriting. This is the natural result of teaching kids unnaturally and gratuitously ornate cursive forms for the sake of it, divorced from the utility that cursive writing is supposed to have. Handwriting forms serve two roles: to be written, and to be read. The point of cursive, outside of the immediate class, is that it optimizes for write time. If you teach people a cursive form that isn't faster to write than bespoke chicken-scratch, well, then it's no surprise they're not going to use it.

2OEH8eoCRo0 4y ago

My teacher at that age did a spectacular job and was very attentive to my needs. I was ambidextrous and she made me pick a hand. I picked left. I'm left handed to this day.

seanhunter 4y ago

They don't teach engineering undergrad students how to use sliderules anymore either.[1] Technology changes. Literally noone other than maybe caligraphers, typeset designers and engravers needs to know how to use cursive writing anymore. It's gone from being essential for everyone to being an extreme niche. [1] My dad always had a sliderule until I was like 8 or 9 and his sliderule was replaced by an HP RPN calculator. He learned to use it as an undergrad chemical engineer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule