Pennsylvania to mandate Cursive handwriting

[Bob Blaylock]

Bob, block letter writing (often called printing) is considered a legitimate form of cursive. Many people have difficulty with learning handwriting systems like Peterson, Spencerian or D'Nealian and prefer the block letter for a number of reasons, everything from excessively logical thought patterns to impairments in manual dexterity to even some mental disorders.

As a young child, I had no difficulty learning to write in whatever style of cursive it was in which my school tried to teach me. I had always understood the point of cursive to be to be able to write faster than in block letters. But I also found that if I tried to write very fast, my handwriting just turned into an inscrutable series of squiggles that even I had no chance of later being able to read, and that is how I tend to perceive most cursive writing, as being very difficult, if not impossible to read. In order to write cursive that was readable even to myself, much less to anyone else, I had to write it slowly and carefully, which rather defeated the point of it. My form of block-letter writing may be slower than cursive, but it can withstand a lot of haste-produced sloppiness and still remain readable.

The individual is still expressed through deviation from the pure block forms. For instance, if I may, your writing above suggests several things about yourself including:

• A person driven by passion, deeply affected by one's senses (cooking, music, art, or touch, etc.) who does not easily forget a favor or a hurt.
• A person of wit, sarcasm and perhaps some irritability and temper.
• An analytical mind.
• A simple, unembellished, direct style of communication. You say just what you think.
• Resolve which usually carries your goals through to completion.
• Well-formed ideals somewhat tempered by a degree of flexibility.
• Optimism in some areas of your life but quickly followed by a sense of concerted fatalism and perhaps a very gloomy overall outlook.

In reading your analysis, I find myself wanting to think that you've nailed down my personality very well; but I wonder if that is really true, or if it is just the Forer effect speaking to me here. I find myself wanting to be skeptical that so much can be reliably read about my personality, just by my crude form of block-letter writing.

Of course, you've interacted enough with me on this forum, that it would not surprise me that you might get a lot of that about my personality, based on these interactions.

 

[Crepitus]

Heaven's forbid, Crappy! If we learn to write well, we could not possibly also have a "technological" society!!!

Does it ever occur to you, shrew, that a big part of our problem is that we already have too much "technology" in our lives?!

Christmas is about getting away from technology for a while and getting back to uncomplicated living for a while with good food, good thoughts, good family and good friends, none of which I'm sure you share.

Oh, so you're a fascist and a luddite?

SMdH.

 

[frigidweirdo]

The number of young people who aren't literate as far as cursive handwriting is a disgrace IMHO.

Glad to see they are working on mandating this as part of the K-12 curriculum. Plenty of things they can cut to make room, like gender studies and evolution.

The nuns were very successful in the Catholic schools in this, and I think a lot of government school kids were literate in the past as well.

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

www.legis.state.pa.us

I can think of 2 million better things to teach kids in their limited time in school.

 

[Dekster]

The number of young people who aren't literate as far as cursive handwriting is a disgrace IMHO.

Glad to see they are working on mandating this as part of the K-12 curriculum. Plenty of things they can cut to make room, like gender studies and evolution.

The nuns were very successful in the Catholic schools in this, and I think a lot of government school kids were literate in the past as well.

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

www.legis.state.pa.us

That's fine since I am of an age where I won't be having to read anything I wrote in front of a class. When old people say something about how messy their signature has become I tell them to wait until they see mine LOL.

 

[toobfreak]

But I also found that if I tried to write very fast, my handwriting just turned into an inscrutable series of squiggles

You'll find good penmen do not write fast. Only today are people in such a great hurry to write stuff.

I had to write it slowly and carefully, which rather defeated the point of it.

Actually, clarity of communication was paramount and well-formed writing was important.

In reading your analysis, I find myself wanting to think that you've nailed down my personality very well; but I wonder if that is really true, or if it is just the Forer effect speaking to me here. I find myself wanting to be skeptical that so much can be reliably read about my personality, just by my crude form of block-letter writing.

No, it should be pretty accurate. Scientific handwriting analysis has been clinically studied developed over about the past 100 years (M. N. Bunker, for one) and is used by the FBI to identify and predict patterns in criminals everything from notes left by bank robbers to that serial "unabomber" who kept blowing people up then sending letters with clues to the police.

The limitation to printing is that it reveals less and takes a larger sampling to get a broad representation of the person, and all writing unless known to represent the normal, average everyday style fairly represents the writer at that point in time as writing will change somewhat with mood. Keep in mind that this was just off the cuff and somewhat limited as I didn't want to get too personal on an open public forum.

 

[Unkotare]

The number of young people who aren't literate as far as cursive handwriting is a disgrace IMHO.

Glad to see they are working on mandating this as part of the K-12 curriculum. Plenty of things they can cut to make room, like gender studies and evolution.

The nuns were very successful in the Catholic schools in this, and I think a lot of government school kids were literate in the past as well.

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

www.legis.state.pa.us

Complete waste of time.

 

[luiza]

Handwriting is important because it is a projection of the way we think as the brain directs the hand. Deviations from the copybook letter-forms reflect differences in the individual. Development of the handwriting therefore allies with development of the brain and one's thought processes.

Why anyone ever stopped teaching how to write much less thinks they need to "make room" to teach it again is beyond me.

Writing is a vital discipline sorely lacking in today's children, and the results are evident.

Even if you had a strong point , all of those assumed advantages are made so much easier by simply deciphering people's posts .
We simply have a fresh medium with fresh rules to follow and to translate into behaviour and personality terms .
You are a sentimentalist , imho , affectionately remembering your past and imagining details which never really occurred except as fleeting moments

Early stage memory fragmentation where the oldest ones hold out longest . Perhaps .

 

[SweetSue92]

The number of young people who aren't literate as far as cursive handwriting is a disgrace IMHO.

Glad to see they are working on mandating this as part of the K-12 curriculum. Plenty of things they can cut to make room, like gender studies and evolution.

The nuns were very successful in the Catholic schools in this, and I think a lot of government school kids were literate in the past as well.

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

www.legis.state.pa.us

The same people mandating this will then have a fit when kids' math and language skills don't improve.

no worries there, Boomers, they kiddos were practicing your precious cursive.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Bob, block letter writing (often called printing) is considered a legitimate form of cursive.

bull fucking shit.

In order to be cursive the letter of each word are joined together.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

The number of young people who aren't literate as far as cursive handwriting is a disgrace IMHO.

Glad to see they are working on mandating this as part of the K-12 curriculum. Plenty of things they can cut to make room, like gender studies and evolution.

The nuns were very successful in the Catholic schools in this, and I think a lot of government school kids were literate in the past as well.

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

www.legis.state.pa.us

waste of fucking time. When is the last time any adult used cursive outside of signing their name?

Kids should be taught enough cursive to sign their name the same each time, and that is enough.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

The same people mandating this will then have a fit when kids' math and language skills don't improve.

no worries there, Boomers, they kiddos were practicing your precious cursive.

do not blame this one on the boomers, none of use have used cursive since we left high school.

 

[SweetSue92]

do not blame this one on the boomers, none of use have used cursive since we left high school.

Plenty of Boomers in this thread saying it should be mandated

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Plenty of Boomers in this thread saying it should be mandated

only two people in the thread agree with it being mandated.

 

[Vastator]

I'm not a boomer, and I always write in cursive. It's something younger folks could benefit from. I've actually had some of these younger types look at it, unable to read it, as if it were some foreign language. It would also help that they could read the actual founding documents of this nation...

 

[Innocynioc]

Good riddance to cursive. Hand printing can be almost as fast and is always more legible. While we are at it let's quit teaching fractions. Anything fractions can do decimals can do better.

 

[toobfreak]

Even if you had a strong point ,

I do.

all of those assumed advantages are made so much easier by simply deciphering people's posts .

Rubbish. There is no scientifically valid system for deciphering people's posts. People say stuff here and you have no way of knowing if they are being truthful, lying, exaggerating, being honest or just saying stuff to sound good. Handwriting is a long proven map of the patterns of a person's traits and tendencies because it is a graphic representation of one's own mind.

 

[toobfreak]

bull fucking shit. In order to be cursive the letter of each word are joined together.

Yes, normally. But block letter printing can also be connected by ligatures. You'll see in several places in Bob's writing that he makes two strokes without lifting the pen. So cursive has been broadened to be understood as any writing done by hand, printed or script.

 

[Unkotare]

... So cursive has been broadened to be understood as any writing done by hand, printed or script.

No it hasn't.

 

[Winco]

Good riddance to cursive. Hand printing can be almost as fast and is always more legible. While we are at it let's quit teaching fractions. Anything fractions can do decimals can do better.

Still waiting for toobfreak to supply a cursive sample.
Any style, just provide an example.

You toobfreak trying to analyze Bob Blaylock .....LLOLLOOLLLOLLLL
Bob is a freak, a sexual freak, loves the word 'faggot' and posts Partial-NUDIES of his wife.
Did your ( toobfreak analysis ) prove that about the FREAK Bob Blaylock ?

 

[toobfreak]

Still waiting for toobfreak to supply a cursive sample.

You want one at 2:11AM in the middle of the night? While reheating a leftover sandwich? Just why am I blessed with this sudden need of yours? Funny you haven't offered a writing specimen of your own! Why don't we start first with a writing sample from you first? Post a few sentences written in cursive by you. That'll help Bob understand that there is no trick effect to my writing analysis, the conclusions are scientific and real.