I agree. My daughter printed her name on some banking forms, and the teller got upset. I had to explain that she hadn't learned cursive yet (she was only in about 2nd grade at the time, but I know we learned cursive IN second grade.)

I would teach her, and still might. But, most of our home learning is more academic science and social study and political stuff. The way they don't teach this stuff in school. less

Maybe if cursive is more of an art form today it is something that should be taught in art? I know that sounds weird and I'm not even sure if it is a good idea to me, but maybe it would be a valid solution.

Children could spend more time learning other things in their normal classes, and during art class one thing they could work on is the "art" of cursive. less

It sounds like a good idea, but at our youngest dd's school, they only get 9 weeks of art a year, and only once a week the way it is. I prefer she learn about perspective, shading, color use, form, media use etc in art.

The 15 to 20 minutes a few times a week in regular class isn't that much of a time eater. And if they require cursive for assignments (like they did not long ago) the students will get even more practice.

I'd be happy to ditch PE (where IMO, the time is basically wasted running around learning how to make enemies of other kids and leave so many kids out) in favor of more academic subjects.

Our state has one of the most strict policies on PE in the country (PE every single day for a full period, all year, every year) and we are still one of the fattest states in the North, we have high levels of Type II diabetes, families with poor food choices etc. We've had this strict daily PE policy since the 1950s, so if PE classes actually contributed to general health we would have seen results by now. We've seen NONE. Proves to me that PE is wasted time. Give the kids a recess instead, and the rest of the time in academics, music and art. less

Funny story: No matter how hard multiple teachers and my mother tried, I will always hold a pen wrong. Instead of resting it on my middle finger, I rest it on my ring finger. What has this done as a result is that my handwriting is even more awful - enough that when I was in junior high, a teacher took me to the side and begged me to no longer write in cursive as he couldn't read my reports.
It has since become this hybrid between print and cursive.

But concerning schools no longer teaching it - I think this is a crying shame. Some feel it to be useless, but I think there is a lost art to the loops and shapes that future generations will not appreciate, much less be able to do. How are they going to have a hard to forge signatures for their future children? Too much standardized testing I tells ya! less