Handwriting in public schools

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have heard that a lot public schools are not teaching handwriting any longer. Is that true in Fairfax County? I am specifically talking about cursive handwriting that we learned when we were little.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

My son learned cursive in 3rd grade FCPS. Of course, it was June when they started it, once SOLs were over. So, not a lot of time was spent on it. He got a workbook and they got most of the way through it in a few weeks time.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine transitioned her daughter to FCPS at grade 1 and noticed her penmanship became significantly worse. When she asked the Principal of the school he said they didn't focus on handwriting (cursive or otherwise.)

[Anonymous]

I don't think they teach cursive although my 6th grader seems to have picked it up.

[Anonymous]

the only reason I personally use it is for signatures on documents. I stopped using cursive in high school - I hated it. I honestly don't see the point.

[Anonymous]

My DD also had cursive in 3rd. It wasn't for very long, but they touched on it.

[Anonymous]

I didn't think Public schools teach handwriting, we are teaching our kids how to write cursive.

[Anonymous]

Then how do they teach children how to write a legal signature?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then how do they teach children how to write a legal signature?

By making the children sign forms, such as the Students Rights and Responsibilities form in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I teach second grade and we teach printing and then cursive starting after XMAS. We probably do one or two letters at a time twice a week or so. I model it and the students practice in their handwriting books.

[Anonymous]

Nationally, some schools are dropping cursive. Personally, I think it's a waste of time to teach it. Laptops, Ipads, voice recognition, and other tech is replacing the need for it.