> > 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 much prefer handwriting, but I usually end up sitting down at the computer because I just can't write nearly fast enough. Typing, by comparison, is joyfully easy.

> 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 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 got teased for years because of the way I held my pencil. The joint on my thumb stuck decidedly *inward* and gave me a very sure grip on the utensil. But people thought it was disgusting, and to mollify them I changed it my 8th grade year. It took a lot of patience and effort--I often had to use my left hand to hold my thumb in the "proper" position. Fortunately (?), I had just moved to a school with very low standards, so I had more than enough time to practice. I changed my handwriting, too. Before, I had used all the weird part of cursive that have been mentioned. Now, I use all print characters, but I don't lift the pen off the paper, I just use less pressure, so all my characters are faintly connected.

> 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.

Yeah, that's the main concern with me. I'll think of dozens of ways to arrange my thoughts, and circling handwritten words and drawing arrows to where they should be gets confusing fast.

gab"My mother continually gets compliments for having the most perfectly neat and flawless handwriting anyone's ever claimed to have seen. I get compliments, too, but compared to hers it's a scrawl."by