Monfredo: Let’s Keep Teaching Cursive Writing In Our Schools

Saturday, May 30, 2015

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

The Worcester School Committee just recently took up the topic of cursive writing. It was an agenda item that was filed by School Committee Member Brian O’Connell and supported by Dianna Biancheria and me. Administration reported that they are in support of the teaching of cursive writing, as is the state, and that the schools in Worcester teach it at the second or third grade. I then made a motion to request that we continue to teach and emphasize cursive writing at the appropriate levels. It was supported by the school committee.

So why support it? We all know that our children certainly can test on tiny keyboards but are they able to sign their own names or read cursive writing? This is a concern and many states are starting to address this issue. Tennessee is the latest state pressing for legislation that mandates students learn cursive writing in school. Lawmakers in the state are pushing for passage of a bill which would require all public school students to learn how to read and write in cursive, preferably by the third grade.

Across the state of Tennessee, law makers were concerned that not all students were able to read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights on their own, and that there were students who could only learn about it though a third party. They could not read these foundational documents that are critical to our history. Thus, Tennessee is one of at least six states with lawmakers urging that cursive be mandatory. Five other states -- North Carolina, California, Georgia, Massachusetts and Virginia -- already have laws in place to make sure students learn to read and write in script.

Therefore, according to many researchers here are some of the reasons to stay on the course of supporting cursive writing in our schools:

1.) Cursive helps people integrate knowledge...

As Dr. William Klemm in Psychology Today, stated, “Cursive writing helps train the brain to integrate visual, and tactile information, and fine motor dexterity. School systems, driven by ill-informed ideologues and federal mandate, are becoming obsessed with testing knowledge at the expense of training kids to develop better capacity for acquiring knowledge.”

2.) Writing long form teaches us how to write…

As Dr. William Klemm in Psychology Today, states “Cursive writing helps train the brain to integrate visual, and tactile information, and fine motor dexterity. School systems, driven by ill-informed ideologues and federal mandate, are becoming obsessed with testing knowledge at the expense of training kids to develop better capacity for acquiring knowledge.”

3.) Our Hands Should Be Multilingual…

Certainly it is important for students to know how to type, especially as more schools move toward taking tests via computer. One would think then the concern of students not writing fast enough to compose correctly disappears. However, research indicates there still is a huge benefit to handwriting. During early childhood, writing letters improves letter recognition and we use the hand and brain differently when writing than when typing. In fact, it is important to teach it all: typing, manuscript, and cursive.

4.) It May Help Those With Special Needs…

Although cursive may be difficult for those with dyslexia, educators have realized cursive could be good exercise in using kinesthetic skills. Both Montessori and Waldorf schools use handwriting as part of their curriculum for its kinesthetic benefits. According to Rand Nelson of Peterson Directed Handwriting, exposure to cursive writing allows a child to overcome motor challenges. Physically gripping a pen and practicing cursive with its swirls and connections “activates parts of the brain that leads to increased language fluency.

5.) Cursive connects students to the past…

Without being able to read cursive writing, students will undoubtedly be kept from many opportunities to read important documents. Examples include many historical documents that are written in cursive. While some of these documents are readily available online in print form, not all of them are. It would be silly to expect students to use translators to interpret cursive writing when it is written in their own language.

Not only will students miss out on a part of history, they may very well miss out on reading important letters and cards from their grandparents or great-grandparents. The older generation still writes in cursive on a daily basis. Kids often rely on their parents to translate these letters and cards for them because they simply cannot read the cursive writing. Forty years from now, when these grandparents have passed on, kids may want to look back on these letters, and they should be able to read them.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is yes, cursive writing should continue to be taught even in our technology and test oriented world. Remember, cursive reinforces the mantra that learning should simply be for learning and not just to pass a test.

Related Slideshow: Central MA High Schools—2014 Rankings

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Monfredo: Let’s Keep Teaching Cursive Writing In Our Schools

Related Slideshow: Central MA High Schools—2014 Rankings

#59 Tantasqua Regional Vocational

Fiskdale, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #328

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#58 North High

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #321

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#57 Southbridge High

Southbridge, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #315

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#56 Claremont Academy

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #309

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#55 South High Community

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #306

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#54 Fitchburg High

Fitchburg, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #299

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#53 Burncoat Senior High

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #295

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#52 Ware Junior/Senior High School

Ware, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #277

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#51 Doherty Memorial High

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #275

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#50 Worcester Technical High

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #271

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#49 Bartlett Jr Sr High School

Webster, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #270

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#48 Murdock Middle/High

Winchendon, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #265

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#47 David Prouty High

Spencer, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #262

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#46 Athol-Royalston High

Athol, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #254

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#45 Leominster Senior High

Leominster, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #253

Testing

2014 performance at a glance

#44 University Pk Campus School

Worcester, MA

2014 Overall MA Rank: #249