No more cursive writing?
Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday:
I was fascinated to read Liz Bowie’s story this week describing how Maryland schools may soon drop the teaching of cursive handwriting. The lessons are not included in the core curriculum the schools will begin following next year and some schools are leaving it up to the principals whether cursive is taught or not.
I’m not sure how I feel about the change. I never had nice penmanship and my handwriting has gotten only worse over the years. The only time I’ve seen my older son, who is in high school, write in cursive is when he signs his name.
My fifth grader is struggling to learn cursive now. He doesn’t have good penmanship, but I haven’t heard any teachers complain. I can understand that the kids might have more important things to learn these days than how to write the cursive Q or properly cross their Ts.
Still, I worry that something will be lost if kids no longer learn to write in cursive. Doesn’t the patience required to write perfect rows of Bs build character? And if kids can’t write cursive, how will they be able to read cursive? Will cursive become a secret code that only a few can decipher?
What do you think? Has your tween learned to write in cursive? Should cursive writing still be taught?
Comments
One of my sons had a friend who suffered from "dysgraphia" or inability to write well. Teachers told him he was stupid until he was allowed to use the computer for composition. I think it is high time we look at character without judging penmanship.
Posted by: Dahlink | November 29, 2011 6:59 AM
My two college students can't read cursive (no less write it) and it makes me crazy!
I agree with you that the patience to learn to write in cursive is a good thing. In our age of 'instant everything', the lack of patience may well be a contributing factor in the increase of ADD in the younger population.
For those who will go into the study of history or other related discipline, I suppose they will be required to take a "Deciphering Cursive Writing' class in college to be able to study primary source historical documents that have not already been 'translated to print'.
Heck, when I mail a personal letter nowadays I begrudgingly PRINT the address for fear my letter will not get delivered in a tmely manner!
Posted by: Susan | November 29, 2011 10:59 AM
Handwriting matters ... But does cursive matter?
Research shows: the fastest and most legible handwriters avoid cursive. They join only some letters, not all of them: making the easiest joins, skipping the rest, and using print-like shapes for those letters whose cursive and printed shapes disagree. (Citation on request— and there are actually handwriting programs that teach this way.)
Reading cursive still matters -- this takes just 30 to 60 minutes to learn, and can be taught to a five- or six-year-old if the child knows how to read. The value of reading cursive is therefore no justification for writing it.
Remember, too: whatever your elementary school teacher may have been told by her elementary school teacher, cursive signatures have no special legal validity over signatures written in any other way. (Don't take my word for this: talk to any attorney.)
Yours for better letters,
Kate Gladstone — CEO, Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
Director, the World Handwriting Contest
Co-Designer, BETTER LETTERS handwriting trainer app for iPhone/iPad
http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com
Posted by: Kate Gladstone | December 1, 2011 1:38 AM