Learning script (English)

bigsis144 ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 8:16 am

Even if you don’t usually write in cursive, I think it trains the hand and brain to form letters in a flowing, left to right motion that makes writing more efficient and fluent.

I have kids who write in weird patterns - when you start forming the shape of each print (English) letter from the right side, or from the top instead of the bottom, it becomes quite cumbersome to write for a long time because you keep stopping and starting instead of moving across the page without thinking.

These kids have avoided writing more than a few words at a time on school assignments (getting incomplete marks on tests where they knew all the information) because the physical act of writing is so annoying and tedious.
I worry about when they’ll enter high school and have to take notes.

I think that practicing in cursive, even if you write in print in the long run, carves those pathways in the brain for efficient writing.

LovetoLive

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 8:27 am

Learning to write cursive, even if you don't keep it up, trains the brain to write quickly and attach letters where it's quicker to do so. the end result is your own personal handwriting that has a combination of attached letters and not attached letters. this is the fastest way to write. I think nowadays typing is faster than writing for many people. but if you need to take written notes quickly, then learning cursive will give you a significant speed boost.

if you dont learn to write cursive at the very least learn to understand cursive so you can decipher cursive written.

↑ WitchKitty

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 8:27 am

mamma llama wrote:

I think cursive is very important. Imagine not being able to sign for a package because you don't know how to write a signature...

I sign checks and documents in regular letters.

Teomima

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 9:00 am

I think it's worthwhile knowing. Certainly how to read it, for sure. Writing script is less important these days but it may be beneficial learning how to better and more carefully form your letters. It might help one's overall handwriting.

amother

Papaya

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 9:16 am

I am an OT and sometimes it is worthwhile for a kid to learn cursive based on his visual motor integration skills vs. his kinesthetic skills.

For regular manuscript, you need to learn how to break down letters into parts and recreate them on the page.

For cursive, you need to learn how the muscle memory patterns in the fingers (similar to learning how to ride a bike or knit) and you do not have to rely on the visual input as much.

If a student has poor visual motor or visual perception skills it may be worthwhile teaching him/her cursive. Otherwise just go along with what the school is teaching! I don't think cursive is necessary but it helps it you know how to read it.

amother

Yellow

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 9:23 am

I voted no even though I almost always write in script and love it.

I love the feel, the look, and the ability to write quickly.

All my college notes and personal journals are written in script.

I don’t think it’s a necessity these days though.

As far as needing to sign your name, Ironically, my signature is a total mush of a scribble even though I can write a whole letter in script

dveikus

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 9:37 am

Writing in cursive is much faster than printing. Kids should be taking notes in school in cursive, which is faster. Typing notes into a laptop can happen later, if they go to college or something.

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:21 pm

LovesHashem wrote:

You do know this thread is about cursive/script. Not english print.

Yes, of course.

You do understand that in order to learn spelling, you have to write?
And mostly, when children learn spelling, they write with ink on paper, not on a computer?

And if they already have to write enough on a paper to learn spelling, it is more comfortable to do so in cursive/script rather than print?

Because that's whole point of script: that it's more comfortable to write.

So when a mother tells me that a child in 3rd grade does not know more than a few letters in script, it implies for me that they don't do a lot of writing, so the question about spelling comes up immediately!

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:26 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

Excuse me - I love writing, I love paper writing, not typing. I kept a journal every night for 5 years, and I write on a daily basis - I have NEVER written in cursive since 3rd grade and don't find it easier - that's very subjective.

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:28 pm

amother [ Burgundy ] wrote:

I’m in my 30s and never learned to write cursive. It has never been a problem. I can read it which comes in handy on occasion when someone sends a note. I can also sign my name (of course), though usually it’s more scribble than cursive. I definitely just write checks in print and no one has ever complained (It’s pretty rare I write checks at all though).

What do you do when you have to take notes by hand?

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:29 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

What do you do when you have to take notes by hand?

Print? I've never met anyone who takes notes in cursive. No one in middle school did. No one in high school did. No one in seminary did. I would of noticed - cuz that's super random, strange, and kinda cool.

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:33 pm

LovesHashem wrote:

That's strange... could it be that you did not train to write cursive enough to come to a point where it feels comfortable?

Back in my day we started cursive in grade 1, reading in print and writing in cursive, in parallel...

We did lots of lines of each letter, with special paper with special lines so as to have the right proportions...

We took notes in highschool and in college...
We wrote exams and papers by hand...

I could never write as quickly in print as I do in script... and by the way not as quickly with a ballpoint pen as a do with a feather pen and ink...

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:33 pm

LovesHashem wrote:

Really? That's really surprising to me...

We should try what is quicker...

chocolate fondue

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:34 pm

Many people who don't learn to write script can't read it either. My husband can read and write English but can't write script. His grandparents used to send him beautiful letters when he was on camp and he couldn't read them because he couldn't read them. He saved them though and I recently read them to him. They have all passed away now, so it really nice for him to finally enjoy their letters.

↑ LovesHashem ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:41 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

It's not that I didn't train - no one did it. When we you born? I'm in my early twenties. Writing script was just something we learned how to do for no use - like geometry.

amother

Rose

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 1:51 pm

I am almost fifty. We learned cursive in elementary school in depth.

I still never liked writing in cursive. I prefer to print, and I can write in printed letter faster than I can write in cursive. Many of my contemporaries used print for their notes. In fact, I can only recall one or two classmates that preferred to use cursive, although we had all learned it.

I am a bit nostalgic and old school, so I am not sure I like the idea of doing away with cursive altogether. Still, on a practical level I think it's quite unnecessary today.

As for learning it to sign - you can sign with a scribble, or with your name in print, or just learn how to write your name in cursive.

seeker ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 3:25 pm

I've given up on pushing for it, but it is excellent sensorimotor activity that reinforces reading and spelling. I think we've succumbed to using computers for everything, but I'm sadly nostalgic for handwriting.

It is most definitely useful to learn how to read so you can appreciate firsthand old or historic documents.

amother

↑ Burgundy ↓

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 3:28 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

What do you do when you have to take notes by hand?

I print. And I have a graduate degree, so I’ve taken a LOT of notes over the years. None of my classmates used cursive for notes either. I think many learned it in elementary school, but it really isn’t the default in my cohort.

amother

Mauve

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 4:06 pm

I learnt script and my handwriting is a mix of script and not.

My childrens school teaches them script from the beginning. They start with forming the letters as they would for script but don’t join them up until a year or two in. All typed papers for the children are in a specific font which is the same as the script style they teach the children with.

amother

↑ Jade

Mon, Oct 26 2020, 4:08 pm

amother [ Burgundy ] wrote:

Well, I suppose if nobody in the whole class masters script, the teacher will have to adapt and speak slower or repeat, so you will not notice that you are slow when writing print...

I need fast note-taking, and use script caracters with a fountain pen... that's what works quickest...

I could also type as fast...