Free Republic

...[Indiana] State officials sent school leaders a memo April 25 telling them that instead of cursive writing, students will be expected to become proficient in keyboard use. The Times of Munster reports the memo says schools may continue to teach cursive as a local standard, or they may decide to stop teaching cursive altogether... ...'The skill of handwriting is a dying art,' [East Allen County Schools Superintendent Karyle Green] said. 'Everything isn’t handwritten anymore.'... Winning: The key board wins as students will no longer be assessed on the handwriting style in third and fourth grade From now on, second-graders will...

Cursive Writing Is Fading Skill, But So What? Fewer school emphasize ‘penmanship’ as computer use increases A student practices both printing and cursive handwriting skills at a classroom at the Mountaineer Montessori School in Charleston, W.Va. . Bob Bird / AP [Pic in URL] CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader's signature. "I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece...

When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2006, just 15 percent of the almost 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive. The rest? They printed. Block letters.

Penmanship: A Dying Art?SAN MATEO, Calif., June 9, 2003 Monique McGowan sharpens a No. 2 pencil, straightens her posture and sharply slants her notebook to prepare for her weekly lesson in cursive. She and other third graders at Horrall Elementary School have perfected ascenders and descenders, and their letters' tails and legs hit the appropriate base lines - even the tricky capitals G, Q and S. But Monique, who plays games on her dad's laptop at home, says she'd rather punch a keyboard than write cursive. "Computers are better," the 9-year-old says, blonde pony tail bobbing behind her. "With...