Robert Frost’s Handwritten Manuscript for “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” I remember in an interview, where he said he had handwritten copies pof this poem to hand out to the members of a college class. This may have been one of them
Death of handwriting "By 2010, Common Core State Standards, which are followed by 41 states, dropped requirements for cursive to be taught in public elementary schools. Some states opted to keep formal cursive writing as part of the elementary school curriculum. “Research is showing that loss of handwriting, particularly in the early and middle grades, has come at a cost,” warns Yank, “Handwriting use is correlated with improved reading skills, including comprehension, and memory.” There’s been a resurgence of teaching cursive handwriting skills to young children in some states, but the efforts are not widespread, at least as of yet. Should schools bring back cursive handwriting?"
I guess we started learning cursive in 3rd grade. Even as a kid I refused to write an upper case Q the way we were taught, except for school. Fortunately it never came up often.
@Joe Riley @Nancy Hart Absolutely fascinating stuff. To see Michelangelo's and Frost's handwriting is a glimpse of the real person. And that picture of capital "Q" is stirring vague memories that it was (is) an odd thing, but I cannot recall specifics. At some point in my early adult life (or possibly sooner) I started printing rather than writing cursive. I have no memory of the when or the why of that transition, since my printing was no better than my cursive. I do believe that the loss of teaching cursive is akin to permitting (demanding) the use of calculators in math class. Studies have shown there is a connection with the information when one manually engages it.
Printing neatly with a ballpoint pen is even harder than writing with one, for me. You have to press down the same amount right to the very edges of the marks, or there are tails. I always use disposable mechanical pencils. Only use pens when it's required, like signing checks. The best part of a pencil: For several years the erasers on pencils were un-usable. Cost cutting. But the last BIC mechanical pencils I bought have very good erasers. You have to keep turning them because they are more like kneadable erasers. Sometimes it's not a mistake you want to erase. Sometimes you just change your mind.
I never really liked mechanical pencils because the lead is too fragile. I agree on your observations of erasers. They went from being functional to merely existing as an worthless obligatory appendage.
In elementary school, we learned two different styles of cursive writing and, although they should have expected it, the teachers were upset when we took parts of one and mixed them with parts of the other, whichever was easiest or looked best.
Yes …2 years ago when we bought our new car I went into the bank to get a bank cheque (That’s what the new car dealership wanted ) I had to sign something to get the cheque and the bank said your signature has changed quite a bit over the years so I had to sign a few more forms so they could record my “updated signature” I’ve not been in the bank since then sign anything
My hand writing has always been the worse. I blame it on cutting off my index finger on a baby bottle I was bringing to my brother when I was 4 but it may be a little lazy too. Hubby calls it my wooden finger since it won't bend.
I can't read my own cursive at all. I use block print for anything that it's important I be able to read.
Being left-handed, I've always struggled with cursive. Developed a near-backhand sort of semi-printing that I liked the looks of, and enjoyed using in notebooks, but now too much typing on keyboards in the last decade or two has scrambled the 'wiring' needed for that. Also my favorite fountain pen got dropped on the floor, and the new ones are all total crap