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Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population

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The Queen of No
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I just decided on a whim to write out the entire 50 US states in alphabetical order in cursive. It was exhausting and I more than forgot how to do many of those letters... grr.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I really enjoyed learning to write in cursive. As you say, it was a sign you were grown up when you could write in cursive whenever you wanted to. Also: use ink instead of pencils. I've since re-learned to like pencils, but I still like handwriting.

I may be the last person on earth who still handwrites class notes, but that's because I'm often taking distance ed classes and don't want to hide my lecture and slides under a Word document. I took typed notes in film classes, and that was just fine.

As for the speed, it took me my whole life to realize that faster =/= better, so I'm really not willing to accept that. In grade school, I was the one who always wanted to be the first to finish a test or hand in a paper, and speed is still the excuse my students give me for their atrocious papers. It's quickly becoming the excuse for everything. So even though there are exceptions, the idea that faster is better is always going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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LadySoprano is a Fat-Fighting Superwoman
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I don't blame the digital age--I blame the fact that schools don't have enough time to teach penmanship in between all of the crazy-hyper teaching of reading and math--which are both on the state tests. Penmanship is not.
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A Small Turnip
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I was royally screwed up by learning to write in the English school system, which teaches joined-up writing, and then switching to the American School in London, where cursive was insisted upon. I loathe and detest cursive writing. Part of it has to do with the fact that my name starts with an A, and the cursive A does not please me. It does not represent me. It is a heinously ugly, rounded, mouth-breathing hick of a letter. I won't use it, you can't make me. I like the triangle A.

These days, like most people, my handwriting is a hodgepodge of different styles. I'd be a graphologist's field day, what with my swooping, baroque F and G and Y. You can tell I'm completely fucking unstable just by reading my grocery list.
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clevernamehere
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
Cursive is so much faster, I'm always surprised when other people don't use it.

What will happen to signatures if children stop learning cursive? Will they just print?
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tscheese
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
Damnit, Jezebel ate my comment.

I was gonna say:

I am a soulless child of the information age. I can write, neatly, in all caps, but I hate reading it later. It embarrasses me. Unless I can conveniently edit, move, or delete great swaths of text, it's impossible for me to compose my thoughts and make them clear and concise.

I draw cartoons pretty well with watercolors, pens and inks, or digital media. I just hate writing. And I especially hated learning cursive in elementary school. It was so utterly pointless.
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randomnessish
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
My god. I never understood how people can only write in block print. My writing is the bastard child of cursive and print.

Children these days! I loved learning cursive, and I had my own fancypants calligraphy set, natch.
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Wit is periodically disensouled
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I've been told I have "distinctive" and "lovely" handwriting... that no one can read because it's a blend of printing, cursive and my own characters which may or may not resemble the letters of the alphabet that they are meant to represent.

...which might be why it took my friend Liz so long to realize that I wasn't calling her "47" - at least not intentionally.
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Breamworthy
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I never learned cursive in school (crazy cult, home-schooled, don't ask) but over the years my printing got faster and gradually joined together (mostly because of wacky physics profs who lectured at break-neck speed). Now everyone tells me how lovely my handwriting is, even though my writing follows none of the supposedly correct rules, like where your Q looks like some mutant 2.
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Devonna
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I'm such a nerd that I not only love calligraphy, cursive, but was ecstatic the day they taught us CYRILLIC CURSIVE in Russian class.

It's the prettiest writing ever.

The fact that grammar and penmanship are becoming anachronisms hurts my soul. There is no substitute for a hand-penned thank you note, people.
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I, Zombie Normal
12/31/08

@Devonna: Ooooh, I would love to learn the Cyrillic script! Maybe cuz I am reading a lot of Russian history at the moment, but I am inspired now.
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accomodatingasian
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I received a penmanship award in fifth grade, circa 1992. This is the first time I felt like bragging about it.

Oh yeah, I can also write in cursive backwards. Suck it!
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AuntieEm (robots from the year 2000 > zombies)
12/31/08

@accomodatingasian: holy crap! that's amazing!
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I, Zombie Normal
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
My cursive handwriting looks like that of a clumsy ten year-old boy, and I tend to write in a combination of cursive, all caps, and regular printing, with my slants going back and forth like a ship tossed at sea.

And yet, I can do wonderful calligraphy, and have taught myself the Arabic script, which is really beautiful. Perhaps because I am paying attention when writing fancy shmancy, therefore I write more floridly, but the difference is remarkable.

And, oh do I love pens, all kinds, rolling ball, uniball, calligraphy pens, I get all tingly just thinking about them...
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Breamworthy
12/31/08

@The Zombie Commenter Formerly Known as AbbyNormal: For no reason whatsoever, I read that as "like chips tossed at sea". And it was awesome.
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arodriguez.romero
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I'm glad cursive is mostly going away, replaced by computer print outs. 1) very few have perfect handwriting, especially when pressed 2) nobody can compete with the neatness of a print out

but especially:

3) way back in the day, circa 1930's, if you didn't get any formal education (my dad) your handwriting looked like crap compared to everybody else's (my dad's). It had serious social implications.
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ceejeemcbeegee is not here
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
Dyslexia can undo even the most perfect penmanship. I tend to miss humps on my Ms and put too many humps on my Ns, confuse my Bs and Ds, and make my Es look like Ls and vice versa. So the cursive... not so pretty.
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theysaidwhat
12/31/08

@ceejeemcbeegee: Aw, it's probably pretty, just illegible.;)
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BlondeGrlz
12/31/08

In reply to Modern Kids Ruin Penmanship For The Rest Of The Population
I have terrible handwriting and cursive made my slight dyslexia even more painful. I distinctly remember the day I realized I could just NOT USE IT anymore, since I was a grown up.

But I truly envy those who can and do use pretty handwriting. I made my younger sister learn calligraphy to address all my wedding invitations, because I am a) cheap and b)a pushy bitch.
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