Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Son Deureo!]

Help me settle a stupid argument.

I work at an adult hogwon. I have a co-worker who requires that all essays and journal entries for his writing classes be written in cursive. Apparently he also holds high standards for penmanship in his classes as well. I asked him why and he swears that this is the standard of handwriting for academe, the Ivy League, and the corporate English-speaking world. In addition, writing in cursive is scientifically proven to be 3 or 4 times faster than printing.

I found this surprising, as I haven't written anything in cursive other than my signature since middle school. In fact, teachers in my schools asked us to print instead because it was easier to read than cursive. I definitely print faster than I can write cursive.

Are people actually expected to use cursive in the English speaking world or not?

At any rate, I don't really care what this guy teaches in his classroom, but his insistence on its importance struck me as a bit... odd. I could see exposing students to it so they know how to read it, but anything more seems a bit excessive.

Especially teaching adult students in the digital age.

But I could be wrong. Any thoughts?

[tzechuk]

I use cursive when I write. When I taught last year, though, I printed everything because they didn't understand otherwise.

[Bunnymonster]

ditto, I use cursive whenever I am writing for my own benefit, when I'm teaching or legibility is vital then I print stuff.

[Tiger Beer]

I strongly disagree thats its used for academia and the corporate English-speaking world.. that is ALL being typed out in computers. You would look EXTREMELY UNPROFESSIONAL to ever hand in any kind of report of any type by cursive writing.

Its main purpose is to be able to write and take notes faster while in a classroom setting. Generally essays are done in cursive also because its faster as well.

Personally I would find a focus on cursive and penmanship to be a bad waste of time for any Korean student. The only possible usage I could find for it for Koreans is if they were later going to be studying in the US and wanted to be able to take notes more quickly - but then I'd suggest a couse in SHORTHAND.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

I was taught to write in cursive at home when I was about 4 years old. Even now when I print, my printing tends to be cursive-like unless I work really hard to stop it.

I prefer cursive, and I think it looks much, much better than printing (but I have seen some pretty ugly cursive styles too). It's much faster for me to write than to print, but like Bunnymonster, I use printing when I teach, as most Koreans aren't exposed to it and can't read it. Mind you, I can't read Korean when it's scribbled in a hurry either.

[Qinella]

I use a sort of cursive script when I'm writing things that only I will read, because almost no one else can read it. It's like built-in encryption.

But if I'm writing things that are meant to be read by other people, it's print, always. I don't care how good your cursive is, it will never be easier to read than equally neat print. And in the business world? I second Tiger Beer - that's just laughable.

For adults, I can't imagine penmanship would be a big issue. Every Korean adult that I've seen write English has really nice hand-writing.

[dreamscape]

I prite. And if I'm writing just for me, lecture notes for example, it devolves into some sort of primitive code, a series of cues to help me remember what the hell I was trying to write. A combination of priting and writing, sort of a slide-printing is by far the fastest I've come up with.

My handwriting is atrocious though

I have one student who has obviously learned cursive sometime recently as all of her written work has been in cursive lately. It's terribly hard to read. I don't want to discourage it, but I do wish she would stop. Nobody I know uses an exclusive cursive script outside of their signature.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I only print, and I have decent cursive writing. I just like printing better.

I can't imagine anyone dissing a foreigner for printing. Communication is the goal.

Anyway, these days everything is done on computer, except for essay tests in school.

[skimilk]

[Captain Corea]

[Mr. Literal]

[Grotto]

Cursive writing is the Latin of the 20'th century and will soon fade into obllivion, only being used by scholors who study dead languages.

I have not used cursive writing since junior high. I have not seen nor read cursive writing in any publication, communique or newspaper. When I correspond with friends and family 99% of our correspondence is typed out on a computer.

Cursive writing is quickly vanishing from society and will soon serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever....much like calculus

[ladyandthetramp]

I type.

And to counter your colleagues insistence on cursive, I remember the handwriting analysis book I read in high school (that's right, I read a book on handwriting analysis) stating that a combination of print and cursive writing was actually the fastest way to write.

[Kyrei]

I use cursive when I write on the blackboard because it is faster. My students only have a problem with it on the first day and then they pick it up with no problems. I am not a purely cursive writer though, I tend to mix them up since I write for speed and not penmanship.

[prosodic]

In the 18th century, you couldn't work as a clerk unless you knew four different styles of handwriting, each to be used for different kinds of documents. But that was then and this is now.

Your coworker is full of bs.

Personally, I like cursive. I enjoy the feel of the pen and the way my hand moves when I write in it. I write in a simplified version of the Bas-tard Secretary style of cursive, which is the primary variety to have survived the ages, at least for common usage.

Would I ask my students to use cursive? No. I ask them to type all essays for writing classes. I do insist that they use a serif font, because sans serif fonts cause eye strain.

In terms of lecture notes, I usually suggest that my students get a good palmpilot and a foldable keyboard for taking lecture notes. There's also the option of using a laptop if you know that you will have enough electricity for the lecture. Either way, a good touch typist can type faster than anyone can write and it's easier to edit and re-organize the notes later.