The Writing Is On The Wall (Or Is It?!) Let's Have a Very Controversial Conversation About Handwriting!

[seoulsearch]

Hey Everyone,

I thought of this today, as I was trying to read one of my own hand-written notes -- and failing miserably! I've found all too many times lately where I couldn't read what I had written -- to myself!

Writing by hand is something I've done all my life, and continue to do daily even though we're living in a digital age. I prefer written notes to typing them on my phone (I forget about notes on my phone, but little pieces of paper that I have to physically sort are a better reminder for me.)

However... I have noticed that for whatever reason (yes, I know some would say it's old age!), it's getting more difficult for me to write by hand. I can't read my own scribbles (is that a hint I should have been a doctor?! Yeah, right!), and I have to really slow down and concentrate on what I'm wording out. I've also noticed that I seem to get homonyms mixed up ("here" vs. "hear") a lot more, as my brain is thinking one thing, but my fingers are writing out something else.

I'm very saddened to see the death of handwriting in our society. There was a show in the 90's, "Forensic Files," and I've seen almost every episode. Some of my favorite cases are when they had to use handwriting analysis to determine if a signature on a will or legal document was forged. It's still an important field for determining whether historical documents, manuscripts, etc. are real or not, as forgeries have become a very profitable crime. But with everyone using digital means to sign everything, I wonder if the field of analyzing handwriting will go extinct.

I've heard realtors say that since cursive is no longer taught in school, young people buying cars and houses don't know how to sign their names. They have to use printed block letters when signing anything (I prefer cursive because I feel it would be harder to forge -- not that anything I sign is all that important, but I feel it's an added level of security.) I was looking up some information about some young star, and was a little shocked to see their autograph was printed, and not "written" -- but I assumed that it was probably because this person has never learned cursive.

Whenever I sign something online, I always go for the option that lets me actually sign my name in cursive with the digital pen or my finger, if it's offered. I don't want all the blanks to be filled in with generic types letters -- I know anything can be copied and pasted, but for some reason, I feel better physically signing my own name.

But maybe I'm just paranoid.

What thoughts do YOU have on the subject of handwriting?

* Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?

* Do you feel children should still be taught cursive? Why or why not? Do you think kids learning to only print will be enough? Do you encourage your kids to practice writing things out "the old-fashioned way"?

* Have you hand-written throughout your life, or always avoided it? Why?

* Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it?

* Are you ok with everyone signing important documents electronically, or do you wish they'd go back to old-fashioned pen and paper signatures?


I know this is a bit of an usual subject, but I'm hoping people won't just write it off , and will stop in to share a few thoughts of their own.

 

[Eli1]

What thoughts do YOU have on the subject of handwriting?

Use it until you lose it since the world is now digital, and cursive writing is not taught in schools anymore.

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[Tall_Timbers]

When I was a youngster... don't remember what age, I attended a Junior Police Academy. It was the first time in our area that something like this was available and it was a pretty tough academy. They were pretty hard on us, probably harder than they needed to be. But live and learn... At the academy we could only write in block letters. That was the end of cursive for me and today I don't even remember how to write some of the letters in cursive.

Now I have nerve problems of some kind or other and it makes it hard for me to write at all so I usually type everything out on a computer or on the phone. Sometimes I'll write a note but it is hard to read because my nerves just won't cooperate and it hurts when I try to write so I write as little as possible.

I actually don't know if my kids were taught cursive or not... guess I'll have to ask them.

 

[RodB651]

Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?

My handwriting has always difficult to read. It's something I struggled with all my life. I've read over the journal entries I've made over the last several years and it's difficult to interpret in some places.
I do try to stay in practice though. My kids were taught cursive in homeschool. My daughters did fine, but my sons not so much. I think they've mostly forgotten how to do that now because they've never really had to. Everything is electronic now. It's unfortunate that its come to that!

Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it?

Yes, my writing has changed for the worse. I still Journal some, but not as much.

 

[seoulsearch]

When I was a youngster... don't remember what age, I attended a Junior Police Academy. It was the first time in our area that something like this was available and it was a pretty tough academy. They were pretty hard on us, probably harder than they needed to be. But live and learn... At the academy we could only write in block letters. That was the end of cursive for me and today I don't even remember how to write some of the letters in cursive.

Now I have nerve problems of some kind or other and it makes it hard for me to write at all so I usually type everything out on a computer or on the phone. Sometimes I'll write a note but it is hard to read because my nerves just won't cooperate and it hurts when I try to write so I write as little as possible.

I actually don't know if my kids were taught cursive or not... guess I'll have to ask them.

This is interesting!

Why didn't they allow cursive at the academy?

I'm guessing it was to make sure everyone's writing was as readable as possible?

I'm really sorry to hear about your nerves not cooperating -- I'm starting to get that in some of my joints. I'm actually glad that typing is a readily available option for most everyone.

It's funny because I've heard of cursive being turned into a joke -- cementing the fact that I am officially getting old.

One of the YouTubers I listen will say, "Don't ask me, this is something from that time when they did joined-up handwriting!"

 

[Tall_Timbers]

Why didn't they allow cursive at the academy?

Military/police reports were always done in block letters. Nowadays they're probably electronic.

 

[Lynx]

Piece together these
Little mysteries
It isn't hard to see
The writing on the wall

- Jill Phillips

I never did like writing. I can do it, but it seems like it takes forever and three years when my brain wants to just get on with what I'm trying to say but my hands are still seven thoughts behind.

That's why I like typing so much better. I can put thoughts out much more effectively.

On the other hand paper and pen still works when the battery has run down...

 

[Godsgirl1983]

@seoulsearch ANOTHER controversial thread!? Oh my!

Well dear, since you asked...

My handwriting has never been 'good'. I can still recall being in 1st or 2nd grade at a time when handwriting worksheets were still used in classrooms, we focused on 2-3 letters a week. *Sigh* the upper case G! Here I thought I was doing rather well with it, felt very proud of myself only to have the teacher tell me it needed improvement and was very important to know as it was, after all, the first letter/initial of my last name and I would need to know how to write it for the rest of my life!
Um teacher, NEWSFLASH! I grew up, got married and no longer have to write those stupid G's


I do have to work very hard at having nice handwriting, and find it odd when people complement it. Every time I write I do feel all those tiny muscles in my hand and sometimes to this day get sore, fatigued hand from writing. I find myself opting for fatter pens when available because they are easier to hold and write with.

As for cursive, well, we may be in the family forum and what I'm about to say might be better addressed in Conspiracy Forum, BUT...
I'm going to bring it up here anyway!
I honestly believe that the reason cursive has been and continues to be no longer a focused priority for being taught is that it adds to the deliberate dumbing down of America!
THINK ABOUT IT!
If our children (or ourselves for that matter) can not read/write cursive, then how can they/we read founding father's and other important historical documents? Oh, we're just going to read typed up modern text/translations and trust that's what they really said? ooooo-kaaaaaayyyy.

I was recently thinking about this though. I saw an old drivers license with my signature and had to laugh noting that my signature now vs. nearly 20 years ago is MUCH different Back then I was trying to have perfect handwriting/signature, focusing on hand control/movement. Now, not so much. Besides, no matter how hard I try to control it, those digital signatures NEVER look remotely close to the real deal.

 

[enril]

Hey Everyone,

I thought of this today, as I was trying to read one of my own hand-written notes -- and failing miserably! I've found all too many times lately where I couldn't read what I had written -- to myself!

Writing by hand is something I've done all my life, and continue to do daily even though we're living in a digital age. I prefer written notes to typing them on my phone (I forget about notes on my phone, but little pieces of paper that I have to physically sort are a better reminder for me.)

However... I have noticed that for whatever reason (yes, I know some would say it's old age!), it's getting more difficult for me to write by hand. I can't read my own scribbles (is that a hint I should have been a doctor?! Yeah, right!), and I have to really slow down and concentrate on what I'm wording out. I've also noticed that I seem to get homonyms mixed up ("here" vs. "hear") a lot more, as my brain is thinking one thing, but my fingers are writing out something else.

I'm very saddened to see the death of handwriting in our society. There was a show in the 90's, "Forensic Files," and I've seen almost every episode. Some of my favorite cases are when they had to use handwriting analysis to determine if a signature on a will or legal document was forged. It's still an important field for determining whether historical documents, manuscripts, etc. are real or not, as forgeries have become a very profitable crime. But with everyone using digital means to sign everything, I wonder if the field of analyzing handwriting will go extinct.

I've heard realtors say that since cursive is no longer taught in school, young people buying cars and houses don't know how to sign their names. They have to use printed block letters when signing anything (I prefer cursive because I feel it would be harder to forge -- not that anything I sign is all that important, but I feel it's an added level of security.) I was looking up some information about some young star, and was a little shocked to see their autograph was printed, and not "written" -- but I assumed that it was probably because this person has never learned cursive.

Whenever I sign something online, I always go for the option that lets me actually sign my name in cursive with the digital pen or my finger, if it's offered. I don't want all the blanks to be filled in with generic types letters -- I know anything can be copied and pasted, but for some reason, I feel better physically signing my own name.

But maybe I'm just paranoid.

What thoughts do YOU have on the subject of handwriting?

* Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?

* Do you feel children should still be taught cursive? Why or why not? Do you think kids learning to only print will be enough? Do you encourage your kids to practice writing things out "the old-fashioned way"?

* Have you hand-written throughout your life, or always avoided it? Why?

* Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it?

* Are you ok with everyone signing important documents electronically, or do you wish they'd go back to old-fashioned pen and paper signatures?


I know this is a bit of an usual subject, but I'm hoping people won't just write it off , and will stop in to share a few thoughts of their own.

My handwriting?....
hmm
My handwriting is a combination of shorthand and style. by which I mean, it looks very fancy... but also very rapid and crushed.
photo maybe later.
I love my handwritin,g because I think it is beautiful, but then, I think a lot of things beautiful... like my hair (yes, odd for a guy)(but oh well.)

 

[enril]

My handwriting?....
hmm
My handwriting is a combination of shorthand and style. by which I mean, it looks very fancy... but also very rapid and crushed.
photo maybe later.
I love my handwritin,g because I think it is beautiful, but then, I think a lot of things beautiful... like my hair (yes, odd for a guy)(but oh well.)

 

[enril]

uh-oh. I've been caught in the act.*checks grafitti rules*

 

[Eli1]

View attachment 281024

I would say this is very good for someone your age.
You’re in high school or older?

 

[enril]

I would say this is very good for someone your age.
You’re in high school or older?

*Ghasp*
Really? I mean, maybe compared to bums who type everything. I take extensive notes about everything; my feelings, speakers, pastor, etc. but lots of ppl tell me I have bad handwriting, they can'tread it. I don't care, I just tell them it's a secret code, so I acn write anyhting I want to. however for assignments I usually use the top example.
You should see my handwriting when I am high on caffeine caffeine doesn't really affect me, but it does enhance my mental proccessing speed, so I think better, write better (in the grammatical sense) and write MUCH FASTER ALTHOUGH MORE STYLISTIC AND oops rapid. (I look at the keyboard when I type.)

 

[Eli1]

*Ghasp*
Really? I mean, maybe compared to bums who type everything. I take extensive notes about everything; my feelings, speakers, pastor, etc. but lots of ppl tell me I have bad handwriting, they can'tread it. I don't care, I just tell them it's a secret code, so I acn write anyhting I want to. however for assignments I usually use the top example.
You should see my handwriting when I am high on caffeine caffeine doesn't really affect me, but it does enhance my mental proccessing speed, so I think better, write better (in the grammatical sense) and write MUCH FASTER ALTHOUGH MORE STYLISTIC AND oops rapid. (I look at the keyboard when I type.)

No no believe me not only you have pretty good handwriting compared to other kids your age but you have excellent writing compared to doctors who may write a script on paper, which is now almost non-existent.
My kids in high school have shown me group projects and i see how the kids their age write. It's not very legible.
But, what's worse is adults too. I mentioned doctors but anyone else will do. Even office emails don't have etiquette anymore.
They don't even write a subject line or start with a lowercase in the subject line or even in the body of the email they don't use proper punctuation, spaces and other grammatical errors.
It has become totally degraded basically and i think it got worse after covid.

I mentioned this here on another episode of mine called "What grinds my gears" which is really taken from Family Guy.
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[Aaron56]

We need to bring back writing in sand and on pyramid walls!

J/K

Cursive was invented so that quill pens could maintain contact with the paper thereby reducing over-runs and spills. Its demise was foretold with the advent of the ballpoint.

That said, I have excellent handwriting. I perfected it during my years at University: realizing that people liked to borrow my notes, I printed neatly.

 

[Lanolin]

* Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?
My handwriting when its neat is easy to read, because it's big and is sort of like printing. I had this distinctive thing where I always wrote my 'a' like it does on the typewriter/keyboard, with the curve on top. At school it was taught without this. I absolutely still write things by hand, like shopping list, diary dates, and drafts. If it's something formal it gets typed up at a later stage.

* Do you feel children should still be taught cursive? Why or why not? Do you think kids learning to only print will be enough? Do you encourage your kids to practice writing things out "the old-fashioned way"?
I don't think I was taught it completely when I was young, but I kind of knew how to do it, However because my birth name starts with 'S' I couldn't decide if I should write it the S way or the cursive way, which looks different and is meant to join with all the other letters.
I think learning to handprint is good, not exclusively digital.
When I was school librarian, some of the brighter children could write in cursive, maybe because they were taught at home or copied their elder siblings who could do it. I sometimes write in it and when it flows it looks lovely, but it can also be difficult to read. Its like calligraphy, an art form in itself. My mum had beautiful cursive handwriting, and English isn't even her mother tongue. My dad, who grew up in an English speaking country, can only print his letters lol.
But then he also worked as a compositor for the newspaper, and back then print was seen as official. If you had things printed, with type, it was like it couldn't be changed, it was literally typeset, so you could not make any errors, and if you did, you needed to use a thing called TWINK. It was liquid paper -correction fluid.
This would be hard to do on cursive because the letters are joined together so that was even more important not to get things wrong. Of course you could write in pencil first and easily erase it.
It is faster to write in cursive though when you get into the flow.


* Have you hand-written throughout your life, or always avoided it? Why?
At first, but now things have gone digital I've adapted ..I still use my pen and paper for many things though. Its impractical to be exclusively digital and hard on your eyes on those silly smartphones, the screens are very small and my fingers are not that tiny.


* Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it? yes it's deteriorated, I don't stick to the lines often because they can be too small, but when needs must I can write neatly. It's more so others can read it than for myself. I can write in a straight line without using a ruler though.

* Are you ok with everyone signing important documents electronically, or do you wish they'd go back to old-fashioned pen and paper signatures? Jury out with that one, because when I sign things digitally using my finger, it looks a bit different to when I am using a pen. However this was the way God and Jesus wrote, using their fingers tracing out the letters, they didn't use pen, ink, they did have clay impressions, or chiselled things, and they did not have typewriters or keyboards. Those are a recent invention.
I can touch type as learned it in school, and I'm pretty fast. I even learned shorthand, but I've forgotten most of it now. Shorthand was basically joined up writing with no vowels. So it was shorter. lk ths.

 

[Lanolin]

Seoul -- see above. I'm answering all your controversial threads, to catch up. I enjoy reading them. Also they are thought provoking. I like having my thoughts provoked. it stops me being bored out of my brain lol

 

[2ndTimeIsTheCharm]

Hey Everyone,

I thought of this today, as I was trying to read one of my own hand-written notes -- and failing miserably! I've found all too many times lately where I couldn't read what I had written -- to myself!

Writing by hand is something I've done all my life, and continue to do daily even though we're living in a digital age. I prefer written notes to typing them on my phone (I forget about notes on my phone, but little pieces of paper that I have to physically sort are a better reminder for me.)

However... I have noticed that for whatever reason (yes, I know some would say it's old age!), it's getting more difficult for me to write by hand. I can't read my own scribbles (is that a hint I should have been a doctor?! Yeah, right!), and I have to really slow down and concentrate on what I'm wording out. I've also noticed that I seem to get homonyms mixed up ("here" vs. "hear") a lot more, as my brain is thinking one thing, but my fingers are writing out something else.

I'm very saddened to see the death of handwriting in our society. There was a show in the 90's, "Forensic Files," and I've seen almost every episode. Some of my favorite cases are when they had to use handwriting analysis to determine if a signature on a will or legal document was forged. It's still an important field for determining whether historical documents, manuscripts, etc. are real or not, as forgeries have become a very profitable crime. But with everyone using digital means to sign everything, I wonder if the field of analyzing handwriting will go extinct.

I've heard realtors say that since cursive is no longer taught in school, young people buying cars and houses don't know how to sign their names. They have to use printed block letters when signing anything (I prefer cursive because I feel it would be harder to forge -- not that anything I sign is all that important, but I feel it's an added level of security.) I was looking up some information about some young star, and was a little shocked to see their autograph was printed, and not "written" -- but I assumed that it was probably because this person has never learned cursive.

Whenever I sign something online, I always go for the option that lets me actually sign my name in cursive with the digital pen or my finger, if it's offered. I don't want all the blanks to be filled in with generic types letters -- I know anything can be copied and pasted, but for some reason, I feel better physically signing my own name.

But maybe I'm just paranoid.

What thoughts do YOU have on the subject of handwriting?

* Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?

* Do you feel children should still be taught cursive? Why or why not? Do you think kids learning to only print will be enough? Do you encourage your kids to practice writing things out "the old-fashioned way"?

* Have you hand-written throughout your life, or always avoided it? Why?

* Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it?

* Are you ok with everyone signing important documents electronically, or do you wish they'd go back to old-fashioned pen and paper signatures?


I know this is a bit of an usual subject, but I'm hoping people won't just write it off , and will stop in to share a few thoughts of their own.

I went back to handwriting in script. It's still messy like as if I'm a doctor (Have you seen doctor handwriting? Woah, Nelly!) I have to force my thinking to slow down so my hand can catch up to make them legible.

I wish society would came back to handwriting. You can tell a person's personality from it if you don't know them that well yet and gives you an idea what they are like.


🕊

 

[Billyd]

I have very neat handwriting, but it takes me a week to write a sentence. I'll stick to the keyboard as long as I can.

 

[Gideon300]

Hey Everyone,

I thought of this today, as I was trying to read one of my own hand-written notes -- and failing miserably! I've found all too many times lately where I couldn't read what I had written -- to myself!

Writing by hand is something I've done all my life, and continue to do daily even though we're living in a digital age. I prefer written notes to typing them on my phone (I forget about notes on my phone, but little pieces of paper that I have to physically sort are a better reminder for me.)

However... I have noticed that for whatever reason (yes, I know some would say it's old age!), it's getting more difficult for me to write by hand. I can't read my own scribbles (is that a hint I should have been a doctor?! Yeah, right!), and I have to really slow down and concentrate on what I'm wording out. I've also noticed that I seem to get homonyms mixed up ("here" vs. "hear") a lot more, as my brain is thinking one thing, but my fingers are writing out something else.

I'm very saddened to see the death of handwriting in our society. There was a show in the 90's, "Forensic Files," and I've seen almost every episode. Some of my favorite cases are when they had to use handwriting analysis to determine if a signature on a will or legal document was forged. It's still an important field for determining whether historical documents, manuscripts, etc. are real or not, as forgeries have become a very profitable crime. But with everyone using digital means to sign everything, I wonder if the field of analyzing handwriting will go extinct.

I've heard realtors say that since cursive is no longer taught in school, young people buying cars and houses don't know how to sign their names. They have to use printed block letters when signing anything (I prefer cursive because I feel it would be harder to forge -- not that anything I sign is all that important, but I feel it's an added level of security.) I was looking up some information about some young star, and was a little shocked to see their autograph was printed, and not "written" -- but I assumed that it was probably because this person has never learned cursive.

Whenever I sign something online, I always go for the option that lets me actually sign my name in cursive with the digital pen or my finger, if it's offered. I don't want all the blanks to be filled in with generic types letters -- I know anything can be copied and pasted, but for some reason, I feel better physically signing my own name.

But maybe I'm just paranoid.

What thoughts do YOU have on the subject of handwriting?

* Do you like or loathe your own handwriting? Why or why not? Do you still write things by hand, or has it pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur?

* Do you feel children should still be taught cursive? Why or why not? Do you think kids learning to only print will be enough? Do you encourage your kids to practice writing things out "the old-fashioned way"?

* Have you hand-written throughout your life, or always avoided it? Why?

* Has your ability to write (quality, how easy it is to read, speed of writing) has changed over the years? What things have affected it?

* Are you ok with everyone signing important documents electronically, or do you wish they'd go back to old-fashioned pen and paper signatures?


I know this is a bit of an usual subject, but I'm hoping people won't just write it off , and will stop in to share a few thoughts of their own.

My writing is awful; my brain moves faster than my pen. It reminds of of a teacher's comment on one of my school reports. It complained about my handwriting. My dad had to talk to the teacher to find out what she had written. Obviously I'd learned from her.