I was appalled to learn that cursive writing is no longer being taught in Louisiana schools. According to different sources, 41 (or 46) states have eliminated the teaching of cursive. Keyboarding is taught in its place.
Teaching keyboarding is fine; it is logical; it is keeping up with the times. However, discontinuing the teaching of cursive writing is (in my opinion) a mistake.
Here are some dissenting voices:
The reason school systems give for discontinuing the practice of teaching what we used to call "real writing" or penmanship is that it is becoming obsolete. Sure it will, if everybody stops teaching kids how to do it. So will solving algebra equations and dissecting fetal pigs. Why do you think nobody can read hieroglyphics anymore? They stopped teaching it in Egyptian schools. And look what's happening over there today!
Those in favor of scratching chicken-scratch from the school curriculum of our state argue that people just don't use it anymore. They say that today's generation uses word processors and other electronic means of communication. They insist that the only thing they use cursive writing for is to sign their names on checks and other documents, and that pretty soon signatures also will be unnecessary.
Reasons to reconsider the elimination of teaching cursive (from an article in the Evansville Courier & Press:
No matter what is said, sometimes pen and paper are necessary tools of communication. Learning cursive is a form of discipline, much like learning the motions of ballet or yoga. It teaches the discipline of repetitive motion along with a feeling of accomplishment when the skill is mastered.
And from a neuropsychologist's point of view, learning cursive writing is a much-different skill than that of keyboarding.
According to an article in the Washington Post, "the neurological process that directs thought, through fingers, into written symbols is a highly sophisticated one."
The Chicago Tribune has written that "several studies have shown that good handwriting skills, taught at a young age, can help children express their thoughts more clearly."
From a cognitive development standpoint, research has shown that children who do not possess proficient handwriting skills produce simpler, briefer compositions.
As logic would dictate, students who print, rather than write in cursive, typically need more time to take notes or write essays for the SAT.
According to the College Board, SAT essays written in cursive had slightly higher average scores than those that were printed. (Currently, both SAT tests and Advanced Placement exams require handwritten essays.)
Research has shown that handwriting makes a difference in the perception of a student's knowledge and ideas.
Whether fair or not, legible handwriting may improve a student's test score, while messy handwriting can detract from it.
"In one academic study, first-graders who could write only 10 to 12 letters per minute were given 45 minutes of handwriting instruction for nine weeks. Their writing speed doubled, their expressed thoughts became more complex and their sentence construction skills increased," according to Wikipedia.
and from the same article:
Anthony Judson, a long-time educator and former school superintendent, agreed, saying, "Deciding not to teach cursive writing based upon other communication tools at our disposal, is like deciding not to teach mathematics due to the availability of computers and calculators.
"In my opinion, cursive writing is still a valuable communication technique which should be made available to our students. Instead of eliminating it from our curricula I believe we should be evaluating all of the testing forced upon our schools by politicians who, in the majority of cases, have little understanding of child development, individual learning styles or ability and achievement comparisons."
And David Mingle, an experienced instructor with whom I taught at a two-year college in Indiana — and who, not coincidentally, has beautiful penmanship — said, "Writing in cursive and in lettering (printing is performed by machines), develops who we are artistically and intellectually. It promotes individuality, thus promoting creativity."
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During the conversation at Amelia's in which this topic was discussed, all of the mothers present said they would teach their own children cursive if the schools did not. Ashley, a 4th grade teacher, said she still includes it in her class despite the fact it is no longer part of the curriculum.
No one is suggesting that teaching keyboarding is a mistake. In today's world, keyboarding is a necessary skill. That does not mean that eliminating cursive is a good idea.
What do you think?
I read Sharon Bolton's Little Black Lies at the end of April and the review is up on my book blog. It is the best book she's written so far, and I hope some of you will read it. A psychological mystery set in the Falkland Islands about ten years after the Falklands War, it is completely different from her earlier works and a stand-alone, I really could not put it down!
I read Sharon Bolton's Little Black Lies at the end of April and the review is up on my book blog. It is the best book she's written so far, and I hope some of you will read it. A psychological mystery set in the Falkland Islands about ten years after the Falklands War, it is completely different from her earlier works and a stand-alone, I really could not put it down!
