My handwriting today is fairly true to the way I learned to do it in Third Grade. If you think that's nice, you should see my aunt's -- she actually taught Third Grade.Street wisdom says that nobody's really teaching, learning or using cursive writing anymore. Teachers overstressed by Leave No Child Behind testing have no time to teach it, and why should they? Computer literacy and keyboarding (formerly called typing) are the skills of tomorrow.
In some communities, that's true. Handwriting is no longer a required course in Ohio schools, for example. Teachers or parents who want kids to stop printing often choose a popular curriculum called "Handwriting Without Tears."
(The first time I heard the program's name I didn't understand it. Then I really let myself remember Third Grade. Capital G's kicked my butt. I might have cried over a capital S, too.)
In one Brooklyn NY neighborhood, parents realized their kids didn't know how to hold a pencil. (Seriously? Yes. A child can easily get to double digits in age and never hold a pencil. And get a clue -- you don't need to know how to write to sign your name. Ask any physician.)
Just as I was preparing to add cursive writing to the list with typewriters, cassette players and manual windows on cars, I found information from a 2007 study on handwriting instruction across the U.S. The survey was done by Vanderbilt University of about 200 teachers (Grades 1-3) in all 50 states.
Turns out, flowy, showy handwriting is still taught in most public and private elementary schools.
I was really glad to learn that. Because, to borrow a phrase from Oprah, here's what I know for sure:
Even in today's zip-zoom, tweet a friend, text your Mom world, when you really, truly want to impress someone, male or female, professionally or personally...send a handwritten note.
Works like a charm every time.
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