Cursive Writing
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Writing capital letters on the chalkboard, Mrs. Dunavan drew a loop at the beginning of the Q and then followed through, making it look like an uppity 2. And she made a loop as she began the C. Loops apparently were the going thing in 1967.
The F was written backwards and the T wore an odd curvy hat, but those are consonants for you.
In third grade, cursive writing seemed like a foreign language. Bent over our tablet paper, we 8-year-olds stuck out our tongues in concentration, trying to get our pencils to replicate the teacher’s perfectly drawn letters.
We pushed a lot of eraser crumbs onto the floor of that third-grade classroom.
Penmanship carried value in my day, but it was not nearly as important as it had been several generations before in the one-room schoolhouses across Kansas. I look at the writing from the late 1800s, early 1900s, and those folks knew their way around an ink well. The delicate script of the past is always neat and clean and much more elaborate than our ballpoint scrawls of today.
Change of style is just one step in the evolution of writing. And in fact, longhand might soon disappear. I was shocked recently to learn that many elementary schools across the country no longer teach it. How can it be possible to not learn cursive writing?
Emporia schools still teach longhand, but in many communities, it is getting crowded out of curriculums. Cursive writing is not a skill that children need for competency tests, and its decline in popularity is also due to our reliance on computers and cell phones. Typing and texting are the preferred pathways now. Pen and paper are so yesterday.
Alas, I am one of those yesterday girls. I love ink and paper and would be happy to be sprawled on the floor of an office supply store where I could sample notebooks and ink pens. But then, writing is my thing. Now for some who write solely on the computer, the only cursive writing they do is to sign credit card receipts.
Abandoning longhand seems crazy to me because printing just doesn’t seem an efficient way for kids to take notes in class. And if cursive is phased out of schools, in a generation or two, script will disappear from our everyday lives.
But such is the way of the world. Things change. And this made me think of the various forms of writing tools and methods I’ve used during my lifetime. We had the fat Crayolas in kindergarten (eight colors) because we couldn’t yet be trusted with the skinny and delicate set of 24 crayons.
Then we moved on to pencils and our graphite phase lasted until high school. Pencils, of course, offered that saving grace of being erasable.
Although I learned to type on my mother’s old manual Royal, I took typing as a high school junior. And those who learned touch typing back then are glad they did since keyboards are now such a daily part of our lives.
In college I had a Smith-Corona typewriter and it came with two cartridges: a black ribbon and a correction tape. There was also Liquid Paper to cover mistakes and an erasable paper option which I used when I typed 12-page term papers.
It was 1983 when I first typed onto an electronic screen using a CPT, a cassette powered typewriter. Such delight I felt when I discovered that I could backspace to correct errors. And one could rearrange paragraphs without retyping an entire page. This was glorious indeed.
Although I use the computer endlessly, I haven’t given up on pens and paper. I use longhand in my journals. And most of my columns come from ideas scribbled in those spiral notebooks.
As the generations pass, there will be less cursive writing. Everything will be hand-printed or typed on an electronic screen. Things change. That’s the way of the world.
And 40 years from now, today’s young adults will likely feel nostalgic for the writing tools and methods they once used - computer keyboards, cell phones, text messages. Maybe all communication will be done telepathically by then. Let’s just hope there’s still some sort of backspace key.
“Flyover People” is online at www.flyoverpeople.net. Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
The only reason writing in cursive was taught was because it was supposed to be faster and more efficient because you didn't have to lift your pen as much. Now what computers are wide-spread it is WAY more efficient to type something than it is to write it all out. Additionally, typing something electronically allows you to easily edit your work without wearing an eraser down or pouring on the white-out.
I only use cursive for my signature. (because it is a unique way of writing my name) Soon, even signatures will be a thing of the past. I'll just scan the computer chip that is embedded in my body and my personal information will be recognized. Signatures can be duplicated, so they are no more secure than some form of electronic authentication.
The bottom line is cursive writing is harder to read and is slower to produce compared to typing. If you change the font on a computer to "script" or something, it becomes harder to read and therefore less efficient for the reader too. I think the schools should stop wasting time teaching cursive; there are more efficient ways to communicate (or record) one's thoughts now. I'm in favor of teaching proper grammar and spelling, but there is no reason to teach a kid to write all squirrelly.
I've always wondered what will come after the keyboard...as you suggest, there might be some kind of direct link to the brain that translates your thoughts to electronic text. Or perhaps, we'll all have built-in receivers, transmitters, and hard drives that can store and transmit complete works all done in the mind. Can you imagine a student turning in his or her paper by transmitting their recorded thoughts directly to the teacher's on-board memory? The teacher could then "read" and grade the paper all in their mind and then transmit it back to the student. I can see how technology might allow us have telepathic-like capabilities in that sense. If it's more efficient, why not use it? Can you imagine trying to stop kids from passing telepathic notes in class? That'd be worse than texting, for sure... Technology has and will continue to play a role in the evolution of mankind. (for better or worse)
'enry
March 1, 2011 at 12:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
What a wonderful article. How well I remember learning to write in cursive by first doing the practice exercises of "sticks and circles." Oh, and your hand had to rest just so on the page too or Sister Mary Wonderful came by with her ruler! I have vivid memories of that!
While doing genealogy research not long ago, I read a census page from 1910. The handwriting was superb and very easy to read.
Henry, I enjoyed your comment very much and what you said about scanning computer chips is not far off. Just this morning, I saw on the news that one of the makers of Facebook has yet another invention. It's for shops that make small sales -- stuff like like donuts and cupcakes and coffee and other things that don't cost large amounts. It's a big success they say. All the customer does is tap a screen and voila! Seems to work like a debit card, only even more convenient.
Speaking of Facebook, they now have plans to make available people's addresses and phone numbers. Shiver!
I remember when I first learned to use the PC in the mid 80's. My learning partner was older and nearing retirement. He said, "I can't see how any of this stuff is going to be of any use."
Now that I am retired, I embrace technology even more than ever. I love gizmos. You should see my sewing machine.
March 1, 2011 at 2:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Cheryl, I too love paper and writing implements. I still today write in my journal using a fountain pen. So satisfying. The image of you sprawled on the floor of a paper store was great. I would join you, but you'd have to help me up.
Don Coldsmith used to write all his novels in longhand. Joseph Campbell said that thoughts flow more freely when written in longhand. I don't necessarily agree since I compose on the keyboard.
Incidentally, my quilting journal is made from handmade paper. The cover is made from leftover fabric used to make saris. You would love it.
March 1, 2011 at 2:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scarlett01_98 (anonymous) says...
hey create,
just so you know facebook already publishes personal phone numbers and addys, unless you block them on facebook. this goes for everyone you friended, also
March 1, 2011 at 5:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
You think Facebook is scary? I just found out about this!!
http://www.creators.com/liberal/andy-...
March 1, 2011 at 5:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Thanks, scarlett. I wonder why only today were they covering this facebook info about releasing personal numbers etc. Weird. Maybe my TV is old. :)
I have a facebook account, but no personal info, never have. In fact, I began blocking most people recently. I don't care about friends of friends.
oh4, I see that. Yes, that is scary. I think a lot of this stuff is invented by kids who haven't learned to be vigilant about security.
March 1, 2011 at 6:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
I have long been a fan of your work, Cheryl, but this ranks with your best. And there's a lot of that!
I remember those days of struggle with a pencil large enough to lean on one's shoulder and the tablet paper with hunks of wood still in it.
A co-worker of long ago was, as a child, required by his parents to "practice" cursive, or longhand, at least one solid hour every night after school. I have never seen such beautiful penmanship as he had. Nothing even close.
Create- be happy you had a "ruler"! We were guided, so to speak, with one of those long, wooden-pointer things! Although I do remember an occasional ruler...were you in some of my classes? :-)
March 2, 2011 at 12:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
knute (anonymous) says...
Spectator! You and Knute were the rowdy ones in the 4th row, weren't you?
Kidding aside, I am sorry this trend is upon us, logical as it might be.
Cheryl, good job. As usual.
March 2, 2011 at 1:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
knute (anonymous) says...
My gosh, I regressed so far and so fast that I didn't remember that I was one of those so carefully supervised by all of the Sisters! Aarrgh!
March 2, 2011 at 1:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cheryl (anonymous) says...
Thank you all for the kind - and typed - words.
March 2, 2011 at 6:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )