Cursive Writing: Elegant Script or Useless Scribbles?
Cursive Writing: Elegant Script or Useless Scribbles?
Written by Amanda Pate
Cursive writing, it seems, is a dying art form. I remember so clearly learning cursive from a workbook in the ancient year of 2017, wondering why the “N”s looked like “M”s and the “M”s looked like they had forgotten what they were supposed to look like. At the time, I had assumed learning cursive was just a part of school, but I’ve recently been educated on the heated debate surrounding cursive education. In 2010, cursive was removed from the U.S. government’s list of required K-12 Common Core standards, though some states continued to require it afterward (Marten and Kaur n.p.). I can’t say I’m a die-hard cursive writer–all of my notes are written in print letters, save for a few absent-minded calligraphy projects. But I was still shocked when I realized that there are people out there who never had to learn how to read and write cursive.
I suppose the blame falls to the object humanity simultaneously loves and attributes all of our problems to–the computer. As handwritten assignments are replaced with digital files, pens and pencils turn to keyboards, there has become less and less of a need for what may seem to be an archaic and unnecessary subject. I am not a believer in unnecessary education, but I do still think that cursive should remain in curricula despite its limited usefulness in the modern era.
To avoid falling into the “I had to learn it so you should too” argument, I’d like to take a closer look at some of the educational and practical benefits of learning cursive in schools. Studies have shown that drawing and hand-writing create brain activity that helps with memory and learning that cannot be replicated when typing on a computer (Askvik et al. n.p.). Of course, electronic writing certainly has its merits (having written this blog post on a computer, I can proudly say that I am not that much of a hypocrite), but that doesn’t mean hand-written assignments have lost all value. Even if something is “outdated”, that doesn’t mean we should throw it away altogether. We haven’t done away with math just because we have calculators, and we haven’t burned our textbooks because YouTube is faster. If hand-written assignments are still relevant, then I see no reason why cursive script, a more efficient division of handwriting, shouldn’t be taught as well.
With the rich history surrounding cursive writing, it feels counterintuitive to completely omit it from the curriculum. Countless important historical documents and records have been written in cursive script, and directly interpreting these manuscripts will be much more difficult if we forget how to read them. Why should we create yet another divide between ourselves and the past that doesn’t need to exist? Drew Gilpin Faust, a historian and former president of Harvard (“Drew Faust”, n.p.), discusses the potential dangers that could come from needing to view history through a translator; the transformation of primary accounts to secondary sources is not a far off worry (Marten and Gurjit n.p.). If we cannot interpret texts on our own, we may lose the ability to think for ourselves, and forget how to think critically about the effects the past may have on the future.
Of course, the “removing cursive from elementary schools will inevitably lead to ignorance, illiteracy, and the downfall of humanity” argument is perhaps a bit hyperbolic. Lamenting about the future and longing for the past has never been a productive strategy for making progress in the world. As with most things, the world goes on, and there’s very little that complaining can do about it. Will cursive make a triumphant return? No, probably not. Will it really matter in the long run? No, probably not. But I think I’m allowed to mourn just a little for a part of the English language that’s been all but forgotten.
Works Cited
Askvik, Eva Ose, van der Weel, F. R. (Ruud), and van der Meer, Audrey L. H. “The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults.” 28 July 2020, National Library of Medicine, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7399101/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Marten, Michel and Kaur, Gurjit. “What students lost since cursive writing was cut from the Common Core standards.” NPR, 3 Dec. 2022, www.npr.org/2022/12/03/1140610714/what-students-lost-since-cursive-writing-was-cut-from-the-common-core-standards. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
“Drew Faust.” Harvard University Department of History, history.fas.harvard.edu/people/drew-faust. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Image: Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-a-brown-parchment-paper-3826667/
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I agree! When I was in 3rd grade, we only learned about half the alphabet and I think it would have been nice to know the whole alphabet and not only a percentage of it.
ReplyDeleteLike Emily said, I also agree! I remember dreading having to complete cursive worksheets in elementary school, but after reading this blog post, I'm actually kind of grateful for knowing how to read/write cursive now. I also want to mention that I like how you described the historical aspects of cursive as well as the importance of critical thinking and interpreting documents ourselves. It's a great addition to your writing. Overall, nice blog post!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I also learned cursive when I was younger, the system in which we were taught it was not the best, and eventually I completely forgot how to read and write it which I definitely see now as a disadvantage. You're point about the important historical papers and scripts being written in cursive made me think about how useful cursive might actually be during a students educational career. Great blog post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should learn cursive because when i was taught(it didn't stick for more than 1 second)in 2nd and then in 3rd grade and then in 4th it was just fill this sheet and never anything else. I think it looks cool and a few books I want(ed) to read have a lot of cursive like when I was 8 I wanted to read the Spiderwick Field guide but it was in cursive so I never did because I got tired of asking for every word. I can now semi guess what the words are when I read Journal three from Gravity Falls but it's just guessing and being unsure and I personally like history and learning about it and I want to be able to read ancient stuff so I agree that we should learn it just in a different more effective way that sticks and isn't something that you say oh I learned that and never thought about again.
ReplyDeleteI learned cursive in 3rd grade, but unlike a lot of people, I actually liked the time allocated to "handwriting". This was because I would just do the sheet quickly, and then could read for the rest of the time... I believe that cursive is a valuable skill to know, as it allows you to write much faster without having to learn the entirety of shorthand. Now, I usually write quickly in horrendously bad cursive, but hey, if I can read it and it took me half as long, I think that's net positive. I agree that cursive is a useful ability, and should be reinstated to elementary school. As some people have noted, not everyone will remember how to read and write in cursive, but the ones (like me) who see its potential practical value, will hold on to it for a while. Overall, I believe that everyone should be given the early opportunity to benefit from the benefits of cursive, but also to suffer from the drawbacks.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cursive should not be altogether forgotten. I was taught maybe 3 or 4 letters in second grade, and remember none of it. However, a while later my grandmother taught me how to efficiently read and write cursive. I have utilized this skill many times since then, and it make reading cursive so much easier. I liked the comparisons to youtube and textbooks, as well as math and calculators. Overall I agree with this topic and really liked this blog post.
ReplyDeleteI was at the same school as Emily so it's the same for me. our school stopped teaching us cursive halfway through the alphabet and never reinforced the half that they taught us so I don't know how to read or write cursive.
ReplyDeleteI find that cursive is an important skill - as there have been a number of times where my classmates have not been able to read the cursive of our teachers. Even if it is not to teach them to write in cursive; they should definitely be taught about how to read cursive. As the generations go on without learning cursive, it seems that a type of art form would be lost.
ReplyDeleteI have never learned cursive in school, my sister tried to teach me it though I never got that far into learning it. But I do agree that cursive is something that is important to learn, older generations still use cursive. Good work.
ReplyDeleteI really love this post!! I personally really enjoyed learning cursive in school, but I've never really thought this deeply about the benefits of it. I think you gave a really nuanced perspective on this debate, great job :D
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