> So then it was Mandatory Cursive Writing for several years, until we were finally judged adult enough to choose ourselves. At which point I immediately went back to printing, mostly out of spite. I don't think I've written anything in cursive for about 5 or 6 years. I try not to print anything either--that's why I learned to TYPE, so I wouldn't *have* to write things out long-hand.
>
> -- Dave

I hear ya' Dave. Since middle school, if I had homework besides math I typed it up. History questions, essays, any thing like that was typed. My reasons were a) My spelling, spell check could catch some, then I would give it to my parnets for another go over and b) both my printing (which I use when I can't type) and my cursive (which I use basically to sign my name) are really hard to read.

I hold my pencil funny, or at least other people think I do. I spent most of elementary school with one of those plastic things on the pencil to try to force my grip to change. I got sore hands. People seemed to think my bad handwriting (and printing) was from how I held my pencil. The fact that it got worse when ever I held my pencil the way they said I should didn't bother them, nor the fact that I'm a tolerably good at drawing.

My handwriting really bothered my parents, they even had parnet teacher confrences about it, trying to get some extra worksheets for me to work on.

If I spend a lot of time on it my hand writing and priniting become much better, but it takes me so much longer.

I never use a pen if I can help it. I write better with pencil and I can erase.

When I write I print, most of my letters are not conectted, and if they are it occures at random. I cross my 't's and 'f's and dot my 'i's right after I finish the letter, before I finish the word. If there are two letters that get crossed in a word, (ex. letter, off, written) I cross them both with the same line. The letter than most often is connected to my other letters would be lower case 'e'.
I ussually stick to the rules for upper and lower case, but sometimes an upper case letter will show up at random.

My lower case 'a's have a tendency to look like 'u's.

My Mother is an Elementary school teacher, and when I was in 8th grade she was still bothered by my handwriting. The school she was teaching at got this new kind of writing to teach the kids. It was semi-cursive but still manly printing. The letters don't connect but the pen doesn't leave the paper in the middle of a letter, except maybe for dotting 'i'. She actually brought the stuff home with her and tried to teach it to me. By 8th grade it is a little late to change your handwriting, especailly if the student is sick to death of people trying to get him to change it.

I was using the computer most of the time by then anyway. I don't even write stuff out long hand first at all if I can help it. I'm actually suprised when I hear people talking about transfering there essays from writing to the computer. I also don't understand how people can write essays in pen, even first drafts. If I have to write something long hand I need to have an eraser, not just to fix mistakes but sometimes, half way though a sentice I'll think of a better way to phrase something.

Ah well, enough babbling from me.

Speed'Idon'ttypetheywaytheytaughtmeeither'ball