Relegated in 2006 to an optional piece of learning in Ontario elementary schools, cursive writing is set to return as a mandatory part of the curriculum starting in September.
Relegated in 2006 to an optional piece of learning in Ontario elementary schools, cursive writing is set to return as a mandatory part of the curriculum starting in September.
Even if there are any benefits for cursive it’s outweighed by lazy/illegible cursive.
I feel personally attacked.
My handwriting was normal printing, but as soon as I learned cursive it turned into this mishmash of cursive and not-so-cursive. It’s legible, for the most part… depending on how I’m feeling or if I’m tired.
I am talking about doctor-note(/chicken scratch) stuff that may take considerably more latency/effort to decipher (or worse, may cause a misunderstanding), also loopy signatures that have 1 big letter with a scribble behind it (at which point you may be better off drawing a doodle like the cat face guy and maybe add some of your name or even initials).
Also I get the not-so-cursive thing, particularly when some letters have odd rules or just look too similar especially if it is not controlled enough (and I think that depends on what letters are connected/how you connect them too). As in the easier/faster idea doesn’t really work out most of the time. (and let’s face it, the lifting-of-the-pen thing is probably silly especially in the case of straight-line print letters vs more-complex-shaped cursive letters where travel shape also now matters)
Why you gotta call me out like that? Haha. But seriously, I had a proper signature until I got a part time office job at 17 that required me to sign a lot of things (for packages, receipts, witness acknowledgement, etc) every day - that’s on top of initialing things. I worked there 5-6 days a week before doing that same job full time for a few years and
eventually continued part-time for a few more years when I was in another career. Anyway, the point was that it was a fairly busy job and the extra few seconds my full, proper signature I had developed wasn’t an option and I slowly morphed my signature into a bastard hybrid between initials and signature that has remained some 20 years later. Also, I ditched the loopy first letter.
I write in a hybrid printing-cursive style usually, but what forced me to revive my cursive was getting into fountain pens. They are designed to write cursive and perform beautifully when done properly. Unfortunately, my cursive writing is not nearly as wonderful as my lovely writing implements, but people tend to see the pens and not my butchered penmanship thankfully.
That being said, I would never impose cursive on someone. Just as someone can learn a new calligraphy style, cursive can be learned too if the interest is there.
People don’t write poorly because they are lazy or because of other character flaws. This is internalized abuse from educators and parents.
I was thinking they’re just in a rush (well, most of the time), but I’d imagine they think it is a lot more legible than it is or will even think that the problem isn’t their sloppiness but “they don’t teach cursive these days!”
I mean yeah it probably doesn’t help that cursive is thought of as efficient and high-class, plus that it’s required for document signage.