(Excerpt from the 2011 Red & Gray magazine which focuses on writing.)
We are continually redefining what it means to write. Therefore, I wonder in 2011, is cursive still a necessary lifelong skill that should be taught in our Nation’s schools? It’s difficult to deny that in today’s culture, cursive writing is being used less and less.
At first, it might be shocking to hear that some students who see cursive writing cannot read it. In conducting online research, I found that their inability to read was not the result of bad penmanship, but due to the cursive itself. One particular blog post entitled, “Is Cursive Going to Become Extinct?” on www.associatedcontent.com, involved a child who declared that she couldn’t read the cursive praise written by her teacher at the top of her assignment and admitted that the only cursive she could read was the word “Lysol” because it is a recognizable brand which is rendered in cursive on its packaging.
A USA Today article entitled “Schools debate: Is cursive writing worth teaching?” published in January 2009 delves into the topic and points to a study on handwriting instruction conducted in 2007 by Steve Graham, Education professor at Vanderbilt University. The nationwide study surveyed a random sampling of 200 public and private school teachers in grades 1-3. Research discovered that 90% of respondents reported that their schools required handwriting instruction. And of those, 50% of the second grade teachers and 90% of the third grade teachers provide instruction in cursive. The study concluded that handwriting and cursive were still widely being taught in private and public schools, but that some school systems, such as in Tennessee, offer “virtually no instruction in handwriting” in their second and third grade classrooms. The study also demonstrated that there has been a shift from focusing on the beauty of handwriting toward emphasis on writing efficiently. There is more focus on process and content and less significance placed on form.
In my online research, I found examples of educators and parents who are concerned that if cursive is no longer taught, then students will eventually lack the ability to decipher historic documents or even sign their names on important forms. Their facility to “sign” would not change, but the definition of “signing” one’s name is changing. Signatures have traditionally been written in cursive, but that doesn’t preclude them from being added to documents in another form. How many signatures have you seen that qualify as true cursive? Many seem to be illegible scribble–including mine. In fact, today, a variety of electronically “signed” documents and contracts are upheld in a legal court of law.
The Massachusetts Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“UETA”), which is intended to facilitate electronic signatures and transactions consistent with other applicable law, specifically provides that “a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.” M.G.L. ch. 110G §§ 6, 7. The definition of an electronic signature under the UETA is “an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.” M.G.L. ch. 110G § 2. An example may be a signature field on the electronic document wherein the signee is instructed to type his or her initials or full name if he or she intends to sign the document. However, there are limited categories of documents for which UETA prohibits the use of electronic signatures, such as forms that are governed by Massachusetts family law statutes. M.G.L. ch. 110G § 3(b).
At Fessenden, a redefinition of signatures to include electronic signing methods is being explored for important school documents. And despite an increase in the use of computers for school work, handwriting along with cursive are still being taught as part of the curriculum. It is a clear priority for boys to be able to write, but the goal of flawless cursive has been diminishing over time.
• Do you think that cursive and/or print handwriting is/are becoming extinct?
• Will handwriting instruction be a priority in the future?
• How about script fonts for computers–will they endure?
• Will cursive and block printing continue to be taught in schools?
• In the future, will standardized tests require handwritten essays?
• What will the work world be like in 2028 as current Fessy Kindergartners enter it?
Great read, really interesting!
Thanks for your comment Will. In doing online research for this article, it seemed as if there was some apprehension toward taking cursive out of elementary school curriculum. I would suggest that this apprehension is because we think of things in the context of the processes that exist today, instead of in terms of what the processes will be like in the future. Personally, I can not remember the last time I used cursive to write anything. And as time goes on, I find that there's less and less of a need for me to use handwriting.
Great article, Lindy! (In fact this is one of many great articles in the latest addition of the R&G Magazine.) The debate about handwriting and cursive in particular is an interesting one indeed. As the required skill set for students of the 21st century rapidly changes, schools are forced to continuously evaluate which of the important skills will be at the top of their own priority list. In my humble opinion, cursive is likely to move down that list as time passes and potentially be housed in the "arts" not unlike calligraphy might be today. This discussion reminded me of this humorous video clip which portrays the fictitious medieval helpdesk of yore!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ
Click here if you are to lazy to copy and paste the link referenced above!
As you said Curt, "As the required skill set for students of the 21st century rapidly changes, schools are forced to continuously evaluate which of the important skills will be at the top of their own priority list." The concept of where handwriting and cursive fall in the list of priorities in school curriculum was a huge part of online discussions. More and more is being added to the curriculum at schools and there is less time for items that are deemed less important. As the number of these necessary skills increases and the time in each school day stays about the same, teachers and administrators, are being forced to examine and determine if there are items in the curriculum that will no longer benefit students in their futures. The education offered to students today is much more comprehensive than it was two decades ago when I was in elementary school. Just one example, computer literacy is a critical skill for today's student and, in my opinion, should be higher on the priority list than instruction in cursive.I would also guess that standardized tests play a role in diminishing instruction in cursive as the focus in some school districts shifts toward teaching for these types of tests.
Lower School Head Wendy Pearre handed me an article this morning entitled, "Neatness Counts: Good handwriting has many healthy perks, it turns out"