Would You Teach Your Child To Write In Cursive?

[Camicat]

Hi @Kate Gladstone! 

 

I realize this is a very old thread, but I sent you a private message due to your response about Duvall. I'm seeking resources about the Duvall handwriting system and it sounds like you have some solid familiarity with it. I learned it in elementary school and I'm seeking to relearn it, but I can't find any books or examples.

 

Thanks,

Alexis

[ParramattaPaul]

It's interesting that this old thread should be resurrected after more than three years.

 

 

[Camicat]

Apologies for being so late to the party. There aren't many references to Duvall handwriting in the world (already a tangent from the original thread) and I'm a little desperate in my search. I did attempt to private message Kate first, but I suspect it might not have notified her that she had a new message.

[ParramattaPaul]

1 hour ago, Camicat said:

Apologies for being so late to the party. There aren't many references to Duvall handwriting in the world (already a tangent from the original thread) and I'm a little desperate in my search. I did attempt to private message Kate first, but I suspect it might not have notified her that she had a new message.

No worries.

 

Have you tried this: ERIC - EJ325247 - Evaluating the Difficulty of Four Handwriting Styles Used for Instruction., Spectrum, 1985 or Kate Gladstone's Handwriting People (handwritingrepair.info)

[Aelia]

I probably wouldn't unless my children showed an interest in learning. I trust the younger generations to recognize what they need. If they want to learn or believe they need to know cursive handwriting, then I will help provide it to them. 

What we valued in the past and the present is not necessarily valuable or useful in the future. It wouldn't make sense to teach them something that doesn't suit their needs or desires, especially if it's merely for tradition or our individual sense of beauty. 

[ParramattaPaul]

3 hours ago, Aelia said:

I probably wouldn't unless my children showed an interest in learning. I trust the younger generations to recognize what they need. If they want to learn or believe they need to know cursive handwriting, then I will help provide it to them.

 

I have to ask how a child could show an interest in something to which he or she has not been introduced or at least exposed?  Also, isn't a bit presumptuous to assume a child -- essentially a neophyte in this world -- to recognise what they need?

 

While I truly appreciate letting a child develop into an independent person, I firmly believe guidance is needed, and exposure to unknowns are equally important.

[Aelia]

2 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

 

I have to ask how a child could show an interest in something to which he or she has not been introduced or at least exposed?  Also, isn't a bit presumptuous to assume a child -- essentially a neophyte in this world -- to recognise what they need?

 

While I truly appreciate letting a child develop into an independent person, I firmly believe guidance is needed, and exposure to unknowns are equally important.

It's pretty simple, I write exclusively in cursive and I handwrite all the time. That's exposure. If they think it looks cool and want to learn, I'll teach it to them. 

Growing up, my parents didn't know what I needed or wanted. My parents, being Vietnam War refugees, had a 6th-8th grade education at most. New York City schools barely taught cursive, but I learned because it appealed to me enough for me to seek it out for myself.

Because of that, I've been writing in cursive since first grade. When my first grade teacher in Catholic school saw my cursive handwriting, she actually yelled at me for doing something "we didn't learn yet."

You can see why I'm skeptical of the idea that adults necessarily know better than children. There's a different perspective when, for most of your childhood and young adulthood, you're more educated than your parents can ever hope to be. 



 

[ParramattaPaul]

12 minutes ago, Aelia said:

You can see why I'm skeptical of the idea that adults necessarily know better than children. There's a different perspective when, for most of your childhood and young adulthood, you're more educated than your parents can ever hope to be. 

I don't disagree in the least.  There are times when parents and other adults know less or think wrongly.  I've experienced this myself, especially in my teen years.  And yet, I believe those (my) experiences were unique.

[Aelia]

4 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

I don't disagree in the least.  There are times when parents and other adults know less or think wrongly.  I've experienced this myself, especially in my teen years.  And yet, I believe those (my) experiences were unique.

I get you. Children need guidance. Simultaneously, we should listen to them and nurture them to pursue their needs and desires. 

[corniche]

1 hour ago, Aelia said:

It's pretty simple, I write exclusively in cursive and I handwrite all the time. That's exposure. If they think it looks cool and want to learn, I'll teach it to them. 

Growing up, my parents didn't know what I needed or wanted. My parents, being Vietnam War refugees, had a 6th-8th grade education at most. New York City schools barely taught cursive, but I learned because it appealed to me enough for me to seek it out for myself.

Because of that, I've been writing in cursive since first grade. When my first grade teacher in Catholic school saw my cursive handwriting, she actually yelled at me for doing something "we didn't learn yet."

You can see why I'm skeptical of the idea that adults necessarily know better than children. There's a different perspective when, for most of your childhood and young adulthood, you're more educated than your parents can ever hope to be. 



 

 

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain 

 

Hi Aeilia,

 

It would be a frightening world if the children were smarter than the adults.

 

A lot of the stuff I was forced to learn as kid put me in good stead as an adult.

 

No matter how much formal education a parent has - or doesn't have - I believe for the most part, parents just want what's best for their children and their only motivation is their love for them.

 

Sometimes love isn't so easy, but neither is life. And parents just want their children to be as best prepared for it as possible. 

 

 

Hi all,

 

If I had had any children, I would have taught them cursive. I think it's a useful art - it teaches fine motor skills in a practical format. 

 

- Sean 

[Aelia]

6 hours ago, corniche said:

 

It would be a frightening world if the children were smarter than the adults.

 

And indeed it is. 

[corniche]

18 minutes ago, Aelia said:

And indeed it is. 

 

 

The world always has been; although I dare say,  it is a lot more frightening for the past 50/100 years or so, than ever before.

 

Abandon  the world and be at peace. 

 

- Sean 

[Aelia]

17 minutes ago, corniche said:

 

 

The world always has been; although I dare say,  it is a lot more frightening for the past 50/100 years or so, than ever before.

 

Abandon  the world and be at peace. 

 

- Sean 

Tinkering with fountain pens is one way I temporarily abandon the world. 

Also, your avatar looks like an Eversharp Skyline hehe

[corniche]

26 minutes ago, Aelia said:

Tinkering with fountain pens is one way I temporarily abandon the world. 

Also, your avatar looks like an Eversharp Skyline hehe

 

Hi Aelia,

 

Me, too.

 

Actually, it's a steam locomotive... a Hudson J-3a, built for the New York Central's famous 20th Century Limited. 

 

There is a definite resemblance to the Wahl Skyline, though. Both the pen and the locomotive were designed by the same man.

 

 

- Sean