Why get rid of cursive writing in the school's curriculum?

[lazy1608]

Georgia's school curriculum will be without cursive writing as a part of their curriculum next year. They feel that the time for this part of the curriculum could be better used to teach computer skills.

How are you going to be able to "sign" checks, or important papers without a signature? You can't just print them, you need to sign them.

What do you think?

[Katane]

I always thought cursive writing was kind of silly. The whole point of it was to make handwriting faster by letting you not pick up the pen between letters. But it never seemed all that much faster to me and honestly I have an easier time reading print. The only time I use cursive is to sign my name and more and more I see that even that line on a form has please print in tiny text underneath.

[kval07]

These days, people don't use checks like they used to, and you can digitally sign all kinds of stuff. I bought a box of checks in 2007. I'm on my third book right now, and don't expect to run out any time soon either.

[uncommon]

I don't think it's a necessary skill. However it does feel like yet another touch of class is falling by the wayside, and I say that as a 29 year old, not some old-timer.

The more technological our society becomes, the more we lose the gentle things that made people feel and behave civilly.

[3timesoccermom]

That makes me kind of sad - who would have ever thought there would be so little value put on the basic skill of writing. I feel sort of the same as uncommon.

However, it hasn't been so long for my girls and I remember it was a very time-consuming endeavor in school, so it's true the time might be better spent elsewhere though not necessarily on computers.

[hburnette3]

I don't have a problem with it being cut. When I was in school I wish we had used that time on something more useful. AND IT WAS A LOT OF TIME! not to mention the time we had to listen to the teacher nagging about how we HAD to use cursive. that after 4th grade that was going to be all we were allowed to turn in. YOU have to write in cursive when you're an adult... Man I wish I could find that teacher to just stick my tongue out at her.
I don't even write in cursive when I sign my checks. I write H, a squiggle, then a cursive R. wait I do use one cursive letter. The same with my last name I write B, squiggle line then, a cursive E

[lovesavingmoney]

I personally think it's crazy to get rid of this in school. My son is a freshman in high school and never uses it at all. I also know that he will need this skill when he gets to college. I had professors in college that there would have been no way to keep up with them if I was only taking notes in print. Yeah, I know they have all these electronics to record notes but I could never learn from just hearing a lecture, I needed to read my notes to study...

[lmcconne]

Technology is a wonderful thing in the right hands. But I feel we handicap our society at large by our dependency.

You want to see amazement from a young cashier, do a little mental math. If it doesn't pop up on the screen for them to read, they are at a loss.

[pharrothead]

It's been a dying thing for longer than some might think. I'll be 30 next month, my ex-husband was the same age, he was NEVER taught cursive. We lived in the same county but went to different schools.

I write primarily in cursive. I have to mentally tell myself to print phone messages for some people in my office, they cannot read cursive.

DD is just learning cursive and is struggling with it. She can read it just fine, but I think it's because that's what mom writes all her notes, chore list, schedules, etc in. I thought I remembered learning it much younger, but she's in 6th grade and they are just starting on it.

[3timesoccermom]

When I do write something by hand, which is rare these days except for notes during the day and signatures, it's a combination of print/cursive.