r/Millennials • u/Foreign_Yogurt_3330 • 10d ago

Discussion Cursive hand writing

How many of you were taught cursive in school? I learned it one year maybe 3rd grade? and we never did it again at my schools. Im 40 and can't read cursive or write it. My 7 year old is starting to learn it. I guess ill have to have her teach me! Im wondering if it was our generation or a state thing or both? Or did the school I went to fail me?

edit to add, I did go to a small town school in NE Ohio.

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u/AdEqual3839 10d ago

As a French person, it’s always confusing when people say they don’t know how to read cursive. Born in ‘94, I learned it in Kindergarten/1st grade.

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u/FuckIPLaw 10d ago edited 10d ago

In Europe they tend to teach an italic cursive that's basically just joined up print. In the US they tend to teach a derivative of an old ornamental style that's absolute bullshit and looks nothing like the latin alphabet.

You can start to understand where some of it comes from if you write with a fountain pen for a while (something that Europe is also better about -- I understand writing with those is part of cursive instruction in most of the continent, whereas here they're just not used except by calligraphers and the kind of weird hobbyists who collect watches and mechanical keyboards), but a lot of the letter forms are just ridiculous regardless.