Cursive is the not writing style of choice for most college students. Most college students probably have not written in cursive since they initially learned it in grade school.
I remember being very excited to learn this new style because I thought that it meant that I was growing up and becoming more like an adult. My class learned cursive by tracing the letters that my teacher had already written on the blackboard.
I tried my best to follow the swoops and curves. But, I never did get the hang of connecting all the letters in one, fluent stroke.
I could read it perfectly, but writing it was another story. I did not see the purpose or functionality of writing in such a formal manner.
While we only wrote cursive for thirty minutes at school, at home, my mother wrote solely in handwriting. Whether it was the grocery list or a formal letter, nothing was in print.
Many of my childhood memories involved writing thank you notes in my finest cursive fashion. My mother always made my siblings and I write in cursive because it was a “necessary skill” that I would use later in life. I dreaded writing thank you notes simply because I had to write them in cursive. It was such a long and painful process. It was a nightmare.
After initially learning the cursive alphabet in second grade, it faded into the background. Grade after grade and it was never used.
The last time that I used cursive handwriting in a school setting was when I had to copy the legitimacy statement at the beginning of the SATs. Thankfully, the appearance of my handwriting did not contribute to my overall grade.
After I had copied the statement, I laid down my number two pencil and took a breath before the exam began. As I looked around the room I realized that I was not the only person who became stressed when writing cursive.
The young man to my left had only written one word of the twenty-five word statement. His hand shook as he tried to connect the letters of each word. This boy’s mother clearly did not make him write his thank you notes in cursive.
Now we are all in college and cursive is absolutely obsolete. There is no presence of cursive in the school curriculum.
I have yet to have a professor here at Monmouth that requires or even encourages everyone in class to write in cursive. In fact, I have never seen a professor write in cursive, and they scarcely print words on the dry erase boards.
Many of my current professors do not even want handwritten assignments. Everything that is handed in must be typed. They do not want to deal with the struggle of deciphering someone’s style of handwriting.
So, the answer is no, cursive is no longer relevant in today’s society.
Cursive used to serve as a rite of passage into adulthood, but, now the only purpose that cursive serves is when one needs to sign on the dotted line. And, maybe writing the occasionally thank you note to a relative.
