Do schools still teach cursive?

[EmilieMadison]

Many of them have stopped. My kids' school still teaches is and my DD has BEAUTIFUL handwriting (brag, brag!).

But yeah, a signature doesn't have to be "cursive" so I guess just however that person writes their name is their signature.

[TrudyCampbell]

My friend is an elem teacher and she said they stopped. It's a crazy world!

[cuddlyevil]

DD's school starts teaching it in kindergarten. They teach the proper kind, not the "cursive without tears" horseshit that some of the other districts around here have switched to.

[lulu13]

My kids school does. They start in 2nd grade. My daughter is in 4th and she loves writing in cursive.

[jerseygrl]

The Catholic schools around here are still very big on cursive.  My daughter will learn it next year in second grade.  I'm just not sure how much it will be enforced once in 6th grade since they will use ipads then.

[circa1978]

God, I hope not. The nuns kept me inside every day of my second grade year to practice my cursive. I still write like I've got a brain tumor and somehow have managed to get by.

[grover]

I had to have my eighth graders sign something last month, and a lot of them were "Signature? Like in cursive?....I don't know cursive." Majority of them printed their name instead.

[panicked]

Jun 5, 2013 14:14:16 GMT -5 cuddlyevil said:

DD's school starts teaching it in kindergarten. They teach the proper kind, not the "cursive without tears" horseshit that some of the other districts around here have switched to.

Cursive without tears? What in the fresh hell is that?! I get mental pictures of an old schoolmarm with a ruler poised and ready to whack if the kid doesn't loop his "s" properly...

I write almost entirely in cursive. I learned it in the 4th grade and if my kid doesn't learn it then, I will teach her. I have run into people who can't read my writing, not because it's terrible, but because they can't read cursive. It's a shame.

[Deleted]

I heard they spend like a day on it around here.

[papie]

Here they do.

[textbookcase]

Many schools here don't teach it anymore. The private schools do, but public schools don't. I teach my children cursive.

[luckyval]

They recently dropped it in our school district. It makes me sad.

I understand penmanship in general is something that isn't as important in a high tech world. But with so many important historic documents in cursive, I'd like my kids to recognize and be able to read (and write) cursive

[Marle]

When I took my GRE I had to fake cursive because I wasn't "writing" the statement about it being me taking the test. They told me that was "printing" not "writing". I hadn't written in cursive since I was in 3rd grade.

[EmilieMadison]

Jun 5, 2013 14:13:50 GMT -5 happywife said:

My friend says schools are no longer going to teach multiplication tables, true? Can't be true.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using proboards

"Schools", as in ALL SCHOOLS EVERYWHERE? No. 
"Schools", as in a particular district? I suppose it's possible, but how would a district not teach a basic math skill that is part of (as far as I know) all standardized testing? 

[textbookcase]

Jun 5, 2013 14:22:18 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Jun 5, 2013 14:13:50 GMT -5 happywife said:

My friend says schools are no longer going to teach multiplication tables, true? Can't be true.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using proboards

"Schools", as in ALL SCHOOLS EVERYWHERE? No. 
"Schools", as in a particular district? I suppose it's possible, but how would a district not teach a basic math skill that is part of (as far as I know) all standardized testing? 

Yeah, I don't get how any school could get by without teaching multiplication.

[mushmouse]

Jun 5, 2013 14:12:11 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Many of them have stopped. My kids' school still teaches is and my DD has BEAUTIFUL handwriting (brag, brag!).

But yeah, a signature doesn't have to be "cursive" so I guess just however that person writes their name is their signature.

This is like Pluto not being a planet.  I can't wrap my mind around it.  I really hope it isn't happening here, because my son will be in Saturday cursive class.  I guess I am old and crochety but there is no way I won't think "moron" if someone can't sign there name.  But people probably felt the same way about Latin being phased out.

[mellimel19]

They don't teach cursive in schools anymore? That is crazy!
Maybe I'm just bitter because my mom used to make me practice my cursive over summer vacation.

[cuddlyevil]

"Cursive without tears" is a simplified form of cursive. Supposedly it is easier to learn (hence the no tears part) and it ends up being more uniform/legible. But it's really only loopy printing. It's pretty lame, even my friends whose kids were learning it thought it was lame.

[Jalapeñomel]

I love writing in cursive, and I love my handwriting.

[snickers]

Not in Nova Scotia. I wish thy had stopped when I was a kid I hated that bullshit!

[Deleted]

Not sure about the cursive, but multiplication tables are still being taught. Especially now that Common Core is getting in full swing, the CRA (Constructed Response Assessment math test) doesn't allow calculators. So I think that with that part of the CRA, multiplication is important.

[cc]

Not really. I think DD#1's class spent a day practicing it, but it was definitely like it was when I was in school.

[pantsparty]

I have really nice cursive handwriting. I will make MILLIONS addressing wedding invitations 20 years from now. MUHAHAHAHA!

[cc]

Jun 5, 2013 14:39:45 GMT -5 @tnteacher said:

Not sure about the cursive, but multiplication tables are still being taught. Especially now that Common Core is getting in full swing, the CRA (Constructed Response Assessment math test) doesn't allow calculators. So I think that with that part of the CRA, multiplication is important.

Is this the summative/formative stuff?

[Doggy Mommy]

It isn't in the standards here any more, so no it isn't always taught. Also I have no problem whatsoever with handwriting without tears. We used it at my old school and I liked it. It's pretty much how I write cursive anyway. Some letters are slightly different but I don't think it's a big deal.

[Doggy Mommy]

Oh and we absolutely teach multiplication facts. Kids need to know them.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2013 14:44:40 GMT -5 cc said:

Jun 5, 2013 14:39:45 GMT -5 @tnteacher said:

Not sure about the cursive, but multiplication tables are still being taught. Especially now that Common Core is getting in full swing, the CRA (Constructed Response Assessment math test) doesn't allow calculators. So I think that with that part of the CRA, multiplication is important.

Is this the summative/formative stuff?

It probably eventually will be, but right now it's given twice a year as a preliminary to fully implementing Common Core in TN (and other Race to the Top states) in 2014-2015. It's just four questions, so right now it's a problem that students have to explain their answer.

2x4 = ?

The answer is eight. It is eight because you can use repeated addition to come up with eight. 2+2+2+2 = 8.

[snickers]

Jun 5, 2013 15:10:58 GMT -5 @jehc said:

Jun 5, 2013 14:35:59 GMT -5 snickers said:

Not in Nova Scotia. I wish thy had stopped when I was a kid I hated that bullshit!

They do still Teach it Nova Scotia. They took it out of the curriculum for a few years but they added it Back into the grade 3 curriculum this year.

Is it up to the discretion of the teacher?

[partiallysunny]

They don't around here I want to teach my kids how to. All my recipes are in cursive!

[angelaa73]

I was seriously surprised when Adam came home with cursive assignments. His handwriting is so cute! The teachers believe this reduces dyslexia ?? Did I spell that right?