Cursive – A Disappearing Skill?

I found yet another article about the waning relevance of cursive handwriting in school.  This article was in The Washington Post.  As in the previous article, the new national standards were cited as part of the blame.  Other reasons for the decline in teaching cursive handwriting are lean budgets and lack of time in the school day.  The new standards set the learning goals and objectives students need to be successful in the world after high school.  Obviously, technology is engrained in every aspect of our lives in some way.

It's hard to blame teachers for their reluctance to spend time teaching cursive.  After all, much of our testing is done online now.  In the near future, all of our standardized testing will be via computer.  Students need to be proficient typists in order to successfully complete their assessments in the time permitted.  Most people seem to agree that, while cursive handwriting can be beautiful and some of our older historical documents are written in cursive, the need to learn it is rapidly becoming obsolete.

Deborah Spear, an academic therapist, disagrees, but not simply because of the beauty of cursive or its usefullness in interpreting old documents.  She relies on cursive handwriting when working with dyslexic students.  "Because all letters in cursive start on a base line, and because the pen moves fluidly from left to right, cursive is easier to learn for dyslexic students who have trouble forming words correctly."  She states, "Yes, needing to read cursive is greatly diminishing in our society, but it's still very applicable as an instructional tool."

Steve Graham is an education professor at Arizona State University and also a top U.S. expert on handwriting instruction.  He says, "I can't remember the last time I read the Constitution.  The truth is that cursive writing is pretty much gone, except in the adult world for people in their 60s and 70s."  He ends with the assertion that, "The question is why teach two forms of writing when one will do the trick?  Something's gotta give.  Cursive handwriting is under pressure."

As for me, I can still be swayed either way.  I hate to see cursive go completely by the wayside.  I can't imagine signing my signature in print.  That just doesn't seem right to me.  I still write in cursive for students occasionally, just so they can at least learn to read it.  I practice reading cursive with my grandchildren.  In fact, my second grade granddaughter excitedly told me last week that she was going to be learning cursive over the balance of the school year. 


The article can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/cursive-handwriting-disappearing-from-public-schools/2013/04/04/215862e0-7d23-11e2-a044-676856536b40_story.html

Cursive – To Teach or Not To Teach

What are your thoughts about teaching cursive handwriting in elementary school?  How about memorization of multiplication facts?  Cursive is no longer required.  At one time, cursive was taught in third through fifth grades, but not anymore.  The state of North Carolina has decided it is important enough to do something about it.  Also, because students are using calculators more and more, they are very concerned about children not learning their multiplication facts in elementary school.

The state House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation recently to require students to learn both in elementary schools throughout North Carolina.  Known as the "Back to Basics" bill, 107 voted yes, with no dissenters.  The bill goes to the state Senate next and, if approved, will be implemented in the 2013-2014 school year.

Disappointment was expressed when the Common Core State Standards failed to address cursive handwriting at all.  While some believe that with today's technology, there is little need to be able to write cursive, others strongly disagree.  The main criticism I have read here and in other articles is the need to be able to read historic documents.  Without the ability to read cursive, they may as well be written in another language.  Students would no longer be able to read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or letters from Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.

California, Georgia, Idaho and Massachusetts feel the same way, as they are all resinstituting cursive as a requirement in their schools.

I remember feeling all grown up when I learned how to write cursive in elementary school.  Since it is a school-based decision, some students here in Florida still learn how.  My granddaughter was very excited since she was beginning to learn cursive today.  I believe it is still a very important skill to learn, but can also understand that teachers have so many things to fit into their days that it seems like something has to go.  Unfortunately, things like cursive are the first to be cut.



http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/04/2801884/nc-house-passes-cursive-handwriting.html