Today, many students find it normal to write in print, not realizing that the art of cursive is slowly dying. Students have been told that cursive is like a relic, an elegant way of writing, but useless for the fast-evolving generation and keyboard era. When the Common Core Standards were introduced in 2010, excluding its teaching in schools, the message was clearly made that cursive is a waste of classroom minutes in an age where digital technology and keyboarding are taking over in schools.
Cursive is not just a fancy way to write; it is a cognitive and essential tool that many children should acquire. Many states, such as California and Pennsylvania, are trying to bring back this curriculum, realizing the mistake schools collectively made in the past.
The argument on cursive centers around its efficiency. Computers are replacing cursive, but the efficiency in output does not equal efficiency in learning.
According to the International Dyslexia Association, “Neuroscientists have found that the fluid, continuous motion of cursive activates the brain’s reading circuit in a way that typing cannot.” Because each work is connected in cursive, the brain processes words as holistic units rather than a series of strokes on the page. For students with dyslexia, this connectivity is a support, reducing the frequent letter gaps and reversals. It helps these students see letters in a clearer, more understandable way.
There is also a component of cultural inheritance regarding the ability to write and read in cursive. The generation born after 2010, also known as Generation Alpha, is known to be “academic orphans” who can easily navigate an app on a piece of technology, but who cannot read the Bill of Rights. When cursive is not taught, the act is essentially erasing American history from being readable. A student who cannot read historical scripts is caged from the primary sources of their own heritage.
Kylee Williams (11) agrees that cursive helps in understanding historical documents and will benefit children later in life.
“I believe cursive should be taught in schools, as the majority of our older documents are written in cursive and should be able to be understood. I also believe cursive should be taught as it looks more professional in the work field,” Williams said.
Some critics of cursive argue that average school curricula are already packed, and cursive is the least of their concerns. Teachers are under immense pressure to hit testing benchmarks in math and literature. However, just teaching children cursive for 15 minutes a day in third grade is a small price to pay for the overall betterment of the generation. Cursive builds fine motor skills that are in sharp decline among children who spend their childhoods on technology. It is also important when signing signatures, a unique mark of identity that a print mark could never replicate.
Connie McCarley, an English teacher, offers professional insight on teaching cursive.
“I do believe cursive handwriting should be taught in school. Research proves a connection between putting pen to paper and knowledge retention. Writing in cursive is a sign of growth and maturity. Writing in cursive is how young people learn to sign their names. Every young person wants to get a driver’s license, and to do so, one must be able to sign on the dotted line,” McCarley said.
Teaching cursive in schools isn’t about nostalgia or rejection of technology. It is mainly about cognitive balance. By bringing cursive back, teachers aren’t just showing students how to sign their names, they are giving students a faster way to write, think, remember – as well as a permanent key to their past.
