Is There Much Value In Teaching Cursive Writing?

[FelixDeCat]

My sister has a job as a proofreader for an advertising company. She says the crap copy some of her clients provide is jaw dropping bad, barely english,

Welcome to chat gpt books. The videos are worse on YT. They are also full of non factual nonsense.

 

[Muse]

I have a cheap old laser printer and it can print many pages per minute. Even old 9 pin epson dot matrix printers from the 1980s can print a LOT faster than I can write cursive or otherwise.
<insert smarmy smartass emoticon here>

In all seriousness, or, at least some or most seriousness, Some handwriting is indeed very pretty and pleasant on the eyes, a work of art!
In less seriousness, other handwriting is like mine, pretty sure should be illegal and considered crime against both pen and paper if not a crime against humanity.

You could probably develop beautiful handwriting if you took the time to develop it.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't think that's necessarily true. Handwriting is an art, and not everybody's cut out for art. Best I can do is legible. I certainly had enough practice when I was in school, but "legible" is the best I accomplished.

 

[Muse]

I don't think that's necessarily true. Handwriting is an art, and not everybody's cut out for art. Best I can do is legible. I certainly had enough practice when I was in school, but "legible" is the best I accomplished.

My statement was "probably" and directed to one person. More certain is that many individuals whose handwriting sucks could develop beautiful handwriting if they dedicated themselves to developing the talent. But life is such that very few people want to do it nowadays.

 

[BurnItDwn]

My statement was "probably" and directed to one person. More certain is that many individuals whose handwriting sucks could develop beautiful handwriting if they dedicated themselves to developing the talent. But life is such that very few people want to do it nowadays.

Im not going to say its impossible for me to learn, but its something I dislike doing and I do not have any interest or desire. Im left handed, and have fractured my left hand twice as a child, once was when i was learning cursive and had to use the wrong hand in school. Spending like 5+ hours per day as a 5th grader on penmanship homework (very very slow when using wrong hand) and getting a "D" made me hate cursive with a passion.

My mom had very nice handwriting, she was an artist. One of my nieces is an artist, she can sketch anything.

 

[IronWing]

Put that superpower to use!

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/national-parks-service-needs-help-from-people-good-at-dying-skill

 

[Exterous]

My sister has a job as a proofreader for an advertising company. She says the crap copy some of her clients provide is jaw dropping bad, barely english,

I've noticed a huge increase in the terrible writing quality (grammar, punctuation etc) of Kindle books. I mean digital only were never as good as anything that had a published physical book but its getting real bad.

 

[Muse]

I wrote a word yesterday, "water" and yes, it was in cursive, but I'd given no thought to how I would do it. It was quite a bit faster than if I'd written separate letters. Absolutely, they should teach cursive.

AI:

Cursive is a style of writing that uses joined letters and flowing strokes to make writing faster. The goal is to write without lifting the pen or pencil.

How it works

• Cursive uses rounded letters that are joined together
• The letters are written in a flowing manner
• The letters are joined with loops
• The goal is to write without lifting the pen or pencil

Why it's used

• Cursive is used to make writing faster
• Cursive can make writing look more elegant or beautiful

- - - - - - - -
Cursive and print are both ways of writing letters, with cursive connecting letters in a flowing manner, and print keeping letters separate. The choice between the two often depends on personal preference or the situation.

Cursive

• Natural motion: Cursive's fluid motion can be more natural for beginners
  
  
• Life skills: Cursive is a practical skill for reading historical documents and signs
  
  
• Brain activity: Writing in cursive can activate neural pathways that may help with learning and language development
  
  
• • Memory: Writing by hand can create more activity in the brain's sensorimotor parts
    

Print

• • Readability: Printed letters can be easier to read than cursive, especially when writing quickly
    
  • Practicality: Printed letters are more widely used in books and educational materials
    
  • Recognition: Printed names are easier to recognize and can help eliminate communication barriers
    

Other considerations

• • Cursive can be difficult to read when writing quickly
  • Cursive doesn't lend itself to shorthand
  • Children may learn printing before cursive to build muscle memory

 

[igor_kavinski]

AI doesn't understand what cursive writing looks like.

 

[Charmonium]

My sister has a job as a proofreader for an advertising company. She says the crap copy some of her clients provide is jaw dropping bad, barely english,

Even news outlets, what I would consider the last bastion of "proper" grammar are losing the plot. One example I saw recently was a correspondent using the word "rebound" when in the context, he clearly meant "redound." As in 'redound to someone's benefit, reputation, etc.'

And forget about distinguishing between who and whom.

Also, proper modification of gerunds seems to be dead. 'His running made him tired' has become 'Him running made him tired.'

I understand that language evolves and OK, part of my irritation stems from having always tried to follow even the more obscure grammatical rules. But things like not using a possessive pronoun with a gerund still sounds . . . IDK, 'dumb' I suppose.

My statement was "probably" and directed to one person. More certain is that many individuals whose handwriting sucks could develop beautiful handwriting if they dedicated themselves to developing the talent. But life is such that very few people want to do it nowadays.

This can't be just me but I don't write any more. I'm not sure who actually does. Everything is digital and I pity the people who can't touch type.

I had to send something to a friend via snail mail. I print, not "write" but after so many years in school, it's almost a shorthand of sorts. I'm pretty sure what I produced was more or less readable, but I'm also sure that she had to interpolate from the words that could be read.

 

[nakedfrog]

Even news outlets, what I would consider the last bastion of "proper" grammar are losing the plot. One example I saw recently was a correspondent using the word "rebound" when in the context, he clearly meant "redound." As in 'redound to someone's benefit, reputation, etc.'

And forget about distinguishing between who and whom.

Also, proper modification of gerunds seems to be dead. 'His running made him tired' has become 'Him running made him tired.'

I understand that language evolves and OK, part of my irritation stems from having always tried to follow even the more obscure grammatical rules. But things like not using a possessive pronoun with a gerund still sounds . . . IDK, 'dumb' I suppose.

This can't be just me but I don't write any more. I'm not sure who actually does. Everything is digital and I pity the people who can't touch type.

I had to send something to a friend via snail mail. I print, not "write" but after so many years in school, it's almost a shorthand of sorts. I'm pretty sure what I produced was more or less readable, but I'm also sure that she had to interpolate from the words that could be read.

I still hand-write lyrics oftentimes. Something feels more natural (to me) about the songwriting process to just involve a pen and notebook (well, and an instrument...). But I also generally try to involve computers as little as I can in my music endeavors.

 

[Charmonium]

I still hand-write lyrics oftentimes. Something feels more natural (to me) about the songwriting process to just involve a pen and notebook (well, and an instrument...). But I also generally try to involve computers as little as I can in my music endeavors.

That makes perfect sense. For creative things, there's no substitute for hard media. Sure, there are tablets that try to give you the same freedom, but I think that must be a learned skill.

Now that I'm feeling a bit more human and have some motivation, one of my pet projects I've put off for many years is music composition algorithm. I know enough Python that I could probably start on it but I'd rather take a couple of classes first.

Let me know if you do anything with say MIDI or other music tech. I'll want to pick your brain.

 

[nakedfrog]

That makes perfect sense. For creative things, there's no substitute for hard media. Sure, there are tablets that try to give you the same freedom, but I think that must be a learned skill.

Now that I'm feeling a bit more human and have some motivation, one of my pet projects I've put off for many years is music composition algorithm. I know enough Python that I could probably start on it but I'd rather take a couple of classes first.

Let me know if you do anything with say MIDI or other music tech. I'll want to pick your brain.

MIDI itself is fairly simple and straightforward, which is why it's remained so relevant and useful for decades, I can plug a brand new MIDI controller/sequencer into both my 35 year old synthesizer and my new synthesizer at the same time and both work perfectly. You may find your notion has already been covered, given that MIDI has reigned supreme since the days of the Atari ST

 

[IBMJunkman]

My handwriting has always been bad. But now, with essential tremor in my right hand, it is beyond illegible. I may should look into this.

 

[igor_kavinski]

But things like not using a possessive pronoun with a gerund still sounds . . . IDK, 'dumb' I suppose.

I've always based my grammatical error detection on whether it sounds right or wrong to me (gerund? what is that?). Found out early on that I can't be a legit editor because of my formal grammatical ignorance (made me sad. It was an online job and could've helped me make money years earlier than I actually did). Oh well. You gain some you lose some.

 

[nakedfrog]

I've always based my grammatical error detection on whether it sounds right or wrong to me (gerund? what is that?). Found out early on that I can't be a legit editor because of my formal grammatical ignorance (made me sad. It was an online job and could've helped me make money years earlier than I actually did). Oh well. You gain some you lose some.

The editor in me wants to point out that it's "You win some, you lose some" 😉

 

[Red Squirrel]

My handwriting has always been bad. But now, with essential tremor in my right hand, it is beyond illegible. I may should look into this.

View attachment 116719

I remember thinking about how cool it would be to do this back when I was in school, but we just did not have the technology yet. Kudos to this kid!

Seriously though teachers must hate AI so much, I'm sure lot of students abuse it for all sorts of things.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I ran into a 20 year old woman at a retail store about a month ago selling general merchandise at a casino. Not the smart watch crap but real, old fashioned watches like I grew up with.

I've faithfully worn a watch daily since 1979, primarily Seikos.

When I asked her about the ones she was selling she joked that she wonders why people buy those anymore. They rarely sell.

Then she said she could not read them anyway, they never taught her what the big hand and little hands meant. 🙄

 

[nakedfrog]

I ran into a 20 year old woman at a retail store about a month ago selling general merchandise at a casino. Not the smart watch crap but real, old fashioned watches like I grew up with.

I've faithfully worn a watch daily since 1979, primarily Seikos.

When I asked her about the ones she was selling she joked that she wonders why people buy those anymore. They rarely sell.

Then she said she could not read them anyway, they never taught her what the big hand and little hands meant. 🙄

Whatcha doin' in a casino?

 

[FelixDeCat]

Whatcha doin' in a casino?

Gambling, like always. 🎰

They gave me a $150 comp to buy some overpriced things. I wound up buying some apple jam, raw honey with beeswax comb, a folding knife and silver buffalo necklace.

 

[brianmanahan]

Even news outlets, what I would consider the last bastion of "proper" grammar are losing the plot. One example I saw recently was a correspondent using the word "rebound" when in the context, he clearly meant "redound." As in 'redound to someone's benefit, reputation, etc.'

i don't think i've ever seen or heard the word redound before. at least not that i remember. had no idea what it meant.

 

[brianmanahan]

Then she said she could not read them anyway, they never taught her what the big hand and little hands meant. 🙄

ngl i have a heck of a time figuring out the time on analog clocks, it usually takes me a few seconds unless it's something easy.

they taught analogs when i was in school but i've had nothing but digitals since i got my first watch when i was 9

 

[Charmonium]

i don't think i've ever seen or heard the word redound before. at least not that i remember. had no idea what it meant.

Granted. It's not one you hear often. But the news correspondent knew it and was reaching for it, he just came up short

 

[Charmonium]

ngl i have a heck of a time figuring out the time on analog clocks, it usually takes me a few seconds unless it's something easy.

they taught analogs when i was in school but i've had nothing but digitals since i got my first watch when i was 9

The first digital watches didn't come out until the early or mid 70s. I definitely liked them better because they gave you the precise time w/o having interpolate the position of the hands. 'Is that 6 or 7 or 8 minutes after; 10am. Ah, f' it. Just try to get there early.

But the first LEDs required that you push a button to display the time. Kinda annoying.

 

[IBMJunkman]

Gambling, like always. 🎰

They gave me a $150 comp to buy some overpriced things. I wound up buying some apple jam, raw honey with beeswax comb, a folding knife and silver buffalo necklace.

What? No jerky and turquoise? Oh, sorry, that is at gun shows.