Should Cursive Writing Be Taught In Schools

There are various opinions in academia whether or not we should still teach cursive writing in schools. Many people believe that computer technology has made cursive writing obsolete and an unnecessary form of writing. Most lawmakers and educational institutions still support and mandate that handwriting be taught in schools. This research will cover the history of cursive writing and its purpose over printing; whether it still serves a valuable purpose; and whether computers will replace the need for cursive writing altogether. There are various studies that indicate cursive benefits young learners and enhances cognitive and motor skills. Cursive was created to make the process of writing faster.

Keywords: cursive writing, joined-up writing,

Prior to this bill being signed there was a lot of opposition and debate over the subject whether or not cursive be taught. Other states are now free to pass such legislation and most agree with North Carolina’s decision. The co-sponsors of this bill also realized that some students were exposed to cursive while others were not, which was very problematic. Not using cursive was as if they weren’t educated. They also felt kids should be comfortable writing in cursive before the end of the 5th grade. Based on a study sponsored by USA Gold Pencils results showed that 89% of the students’ ages 8-18 thought cursive was important. Home schoolers liked packaged curriculums that included cursive instruction. Many experts argue in favor of cursive writing not only because it is faster but because it is stimulating and improves brain development, language and working memory. The fact is the world is not cursive free and its future still unknown. For now it still has its place in academia. It engages the brain and writing is faster than printing. We should focus on it early. Printing or cursive lays the groundwork for typing. The fact also is that not all schools are equipped with computers or have the facilities to accommodate them. Computer equipment is expensive and in fact still uses paper. We can’t always depend on them when we need to write something down. There are several styles of font with cursive as there is with print. The most common