Should Cursive Be Taught In Schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YES. Ive always believed my children should be able to read the constitution.

When I read the constitution, I read it on line. But perhaps you're referring to the handwritten copy in the National Archives? It's not written in the cursive we use (or would use) these days. It's written in a professional late-18th-century script for official documents.

http://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2012/09/14/constitution-225-to-errata-is-human/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every once in a while, I'll see someone share nonsense on Facebook about "share/like if you think cursive should still be taught in schools!"

And the comments are almost universally from Methuselah's posse, "of course! kids have gotten so lazy using computers!"

So give me a valid reason for the existence of cursive for kids entering the workforce 15 years from now. Is it just to sign your name?

Even that's not a valid reason. Your legal signature doesn't have to be in cursive. I've been signing my name in connected print my entire adult life.

[Anonymous]

My DS is finding cursive easier than printing - he has some difficulties with handwriting.

I think the new evidence that handwriting helps with memory is interesting. I work in a math-related field and I don't have a problem with my kids learning to write legibly in cursive.

[Anonymous]

Yes. My 3rd grader can't read what I write even though my cursive is very clear.
Waste of time? What else are American school teaching that is more important? It sure isn't math, geography, literature or history.
All they do is connect dots on a worksheet. He has yet to memorize a poem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is finding cursive easier than printing - he has some difficulties with handwriting.

I think the new evidence that handwriting helps with memory is interesting. I work in a math-related field and I don't have a problem with my kids learning to write legibly in cursive.

But that is an argument for writing by hand, in general. Not for cursive specifically.

I don't have a problem with my kids being taught cursive, but I also wouldn't have a problem if they weren't. If I thought cursive were so important, in general or for a particular kid for whatever reason, I could teach it myself. There are plenty of resources available for parents who want to do this.

[Anonymous]

I want my kids to be able to read historical documents: family letters, manuscripts, the Constitution, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it should. Brain to hand connections are important in our development as thinkers.

+1

Learning cursive helps the brain/hand slow down so that the child is actually moving AS he/she sounds out a word in his or her head. Studies show that the level of analysis is better when things are written. I used to type all my notes in class in grad school.... turns out the research now says that people who take notes on paper do better. I was really good at taking dictation --- but I would have been better off listening and synthesizing the points rather than typing them verbatim.

My ADHD kid does better in cursive than in printing... it forces him to slow down and concentrate. My other child never really learned cursive and hasn't had to use it (b/c of lesser quality teachers) -- and she has not developed the patience that my younger ADHD child is developing by writing assignments in cursive.

[Anonymous]

Yes, because many people write more legibly in cursive than print.

I teach AP English, and students will need to write three separate compositions by hand for part of the exam; the composition portion is worth 55% of the exam grade. I give them a practice composition each week "under test conditions" (ie, timed writing by hand on paper), and I am APPALLED at how illegible some of their writing is for this. If the AP Reader (who scores the tests externally) can't read their writing, they aren't going to get a very good score, even if they are brilliant and their composition is well-constructed. I have found myself teaching high school students how to form certain letters so that I (and the person who scores their exam in May) can read their writing. IB English also requires two handwritten composition exams, both of which are scored externally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because many people write more legibly in cursive than print.

I teach AP English, and students will need to write three separate compositions by hand for part of the exam; the composition portion is worth 55% of the exam grade. I give them a practice composition each week "under test conditions" (ie, timed writing by hand on paper), and I am APPALLED at how illegible some of their writing is for this. If the AP Reader (who scores the tests externally) can't read their writing, they aren't going to get a very good score, even if they are brilliant and their composition is well-constructed. I have found myself teaching high school students how to form certain letters so that I (and the person who scores their exam in May) can read their writing. IB English also requires two handwritten composition exams, both of which are scored externally.

I do feel for the hs English teachers. Handwriting is atrocious. How is it that my grandma who only went to 8th grade in the Depression has better handwriting than 99% of students?

[Anonymous]

Yes.

New research shows an intriguing link between the act of taking notes in cursive in class and better memorization, compared to typing notes, and *even* compared to writing notes in block writing.

[Anonymous]

Yes. it should be taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because many people write more legibly in cursive than print.

I teach AP English, and students will need to write three separate compositions by hand for part of the exam; the composition portion is worth 55% of the exam grade. I give them a practice composition each week "under test conditions" (ie, timed writing by hand on paper), and I am APPALLED at how illegible some of their writing is for this. If the AP Reader (who scores the tests externally) can't read their writing, they aren't going to get a very good score, even if they are brilliant and their composition is well-constructed. I have found myself teaching high school students how to form certain letters so that I (and the person who scores their exam in May) can read their writing. IB English also requires two handwritten composition exams, both of which are scored externally.

I do feel for the hs English teachers. Handwriting is atrocious. How is it that my grandma who only went to 8th grade in the Depression has better handwriting than 99% of students?

Because cursive was the most common form of written communication during that time period and now it isn't?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes.

New research shows an intriguing link between the act of taking notes in cursive in class and better memorization, compared to typing notes, and *even* compared to writing notes in block writing.

citation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because many people write more legibly in cursive than print.

I teach AP English, and students will need to write three separate compositions by hand for part of the exam; the composition portion is worth 55% of the exam grade. I give them a practice composition each week "under test conditions" (ie, timed writing by hand on paper), and I am APPALLED at how illegible some of their writing is for this. If the AP Reader (who scores the tests externally) can't read their writing, they aren't going to get a very good score, even if they are brilliant and their composition is well-constructed. I have found myself teaching high school students how to form certain letters so that I (and the person who scores their exam in May) can read their writing. IB English also requires two handwritten composition exams, both of which are scored externally.

I do feel for the hs English teachers. Handwriting is atrocious. How is it that my grandma who only went to 8th grade in the Depression has better handwriting than 99% of students?

I wonder this as well. Why is handwriting so bad these days? How did other kids learn handwriting before? Both printing and cursive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes.

New research shows an intriguing link between the act of taking notes in cursive in class and better memorization, compared to typing notes, and *even* compared to writing notes in block writing.

citation?

NP. Here are a couple. I'm not the one who wrote what you are questioning so probably they have other citations.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/take-notes-by-hand-for-better-long-term-comprehension.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/taking-notes-by-hand-could-improve-memory-wt/