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June 10, 2003
Keyboards May Replace Cursive
This board has been slow for a bit, so I'm going to add something. I found this article online today at MSN. I remember learning cursive in 3rd grade. I remember slanting my paper... and lining up each letter and having it reach clear from the bottom to the top. I think David and I talked about this once. I remember being more meticulous in my practices... while he said he just didn't really do the lessons and just sort of quickly wrote things out. Guess which one out of the two of us has better handwriting today? ;)
It's so odd that many people don't use cursive anymore because of computers and keyboards. The article goes on to add some quotes from an artist about how children don't even know how to properly hold a pencil. This is so true! I can't even tell you how often teachers in my drawing classes will actually explain how to hold the pencil because most individuals hold it completely incorrect. We are even encourage to practice basic strokes because it further develops your hand coordination, which many people don't have.
The article later goes on to say that penmanship is a "part of your inner being, your core, your worth. ..." I always thought it was really neat to see how people wrote. It certainly says a lot about someone and how much effort and care they are willing to put into something... something so small as your own handwriting. I still use cursive today... in fact I prefer it to regular handwriting. What about you? Do you still use cursive? Do you think children should still be taught cursive in today's schools? Do you think you're handwriting could be improved? I love cursive, yet I know very few people who are older that still use it regularly. I think if people really knew how much their own handwriting says about them... they would try and improve it.
Posted by Kristen at June 10, 2003 12:14 PM
Comments
I never use cursive, although you could say that a few of my letters tend to run together in a somewhat cursive manner.
Actually, I realized about four or five years ago that all of my lower-case letters looked quite horrible. My handwriting improved quite a bit once I started writing in all-caps. However, a few months ago I began experimenting with lower-case letters again, and to my surprise, they actually look pretty good. So now I write "case sensitive" again, so to speak.
Actually, my handwriting has been through several stages. I remember in the 80's when I used to "dot" my i's and j's with big circles. I guess it was the popular thing to do back then, but now I look back and think about how stupid it actually looked.
But I digress. Cursive is just about dead isn't it? I'm not mourning the loss, however. Roman Numerals had to step aside when Arabic digits were invented. Calligraphy died (except as an art form) with the advent of the printing press, and it seems that with the wide-spread personal use of word-processors, yet another form of writing has gone the way of all the earth. I say good riddance. To tell you the truth, I can remember how much I hated learning cursive in school. Maybe now they'll stop torturing all of those poor children. :D
Just kidding. Seriously, I pride myself on my knowledge of Roman Numerals, and calligraphy is pretty cool once you stop and think about it. If I can appreciate those things that we all know are outdated, why should I be so quick to throw cursive out the window?
Side note: I once heard that using a fountain pen (with an old-fashioned nib) can significantly increase one's handwriting skills. The reason is because you have to concentrate on holding the pen at a certain angle and direction. There are several private schools (so I've heard) that teach kids how to write exclusively with a fountain pen. I've always thought fountain pens were kinda cool. I should get me one and see if it really works to improve my penmanship. It couldn't hurt (could it? :s).
Posted by: Joey at June 10, 2003 11:45 AM
Eye is dah beeg stoopeed ogrez! Rarr!!
Eye arz eetz yoooo!!
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Posted by: Blarg at June 11, 2003 10:43 AM