Since technology took over in classrooms, cursive writing has become as unfamiliar to many students as Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Even though many schools have stopped teaching cursive, it’s slowly making a comeback with some schools changing their minds.
This might be partly because of a viral social media post where a teacher criticized a seven-year-old girl for using cursive to sign her name on an assignment. Read on to find out more about this student and why schools are bringing cursive back!
Research shows that handwriting helps improve spelling, memory, and understanding.
Scientists say that the slow process of writing out letters and words boosts brain activity, giving people more time to process and learn.
“There’s a big difference in how our brains work when we write by hand compared to typing,” says Ramesh Balasubramaniam, a neuroscientist at the University of California. “Even if the movements are similar, handwriting activates the brain much more. This extra brain involvement could provide specific advantages.”
As technology advances, we rely on it more, but experts believe that handwriting shouldn’t be lost in the digital age.
“Schools need to include more handwriting in their curriculum,” Balasubramaniam suggests.
Backing up his view is a new study that found handwriting, instead of typing or swiping on a device, improves brain connectivity, especially for learning and memory.
Audrey van der Meer, a lead author of a 2024 study, explains, “When writing by hand, most of the brain is active.”
Van der Meer, a neuropsychology teacher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, says handwriting “helps both children and adults learn more and remember better…Typing, on the other hand, involves mechanical and repetitive movements that prioritize speed over awareness.”
The study concludes that replacing handwriting with typing in schools might be a mistake, as it could negatively affect the learning process.
In 2010, several states adopted the Common Core standards, which don’t require students to learn cursive writing. This decision is now seen as misguided, as removing cursive from education is leading to functional illiteracy in the U.S., where “hard-to-read handwriting” is causing problems for adults performing basic tasks.
According to a 2021 study, a staggering 70% of Americans struggle to reading notes or reports from their colleagues and 45% claim they can’t even make out their own.
The survey also reveals that the most common items to be misread are shopping lists, notes to colleagues, birthday cards, and thank you notes.
Others said without the ability to write in cursive, that signing important documents is stressful.
“My 20-year-old granddaughter struggles to sign a check,” Kimberly Jacovino of Monroe, Connecticut, tells the Daily Mail. “Cursive is very important and should be brought back to all schools.”
Recognizing the need to keep cursive writing alive, 24 states have reversed their decisions to remove cursive from the curriculum and now require it.
However, not all schools are teaching cursive, and some even punish young children for using it.
In 2015, seven-year-old Alyssa was scolded for writing her name in cursive on her assignment about short vowels. Her teacher wrote in red pen at the top of her paper: “Stop writing your name in cursive. You have had several warnings.”
Brenda Hatcher, a friend of Alyssa’s mom, took a photo of the assignment and shared it on Facebook, but the post has since been deleted.
Hatcher captioned the photo, “Share this everywhere… Alyssa is 7!!! Not only is her mother a military veteran, but she also took the time to teach her very young child how to write in cursive.”
According to PopSugar, the incident happened in Kansas, where there’s currently no requirement for students to learn cursive.
The social media post sparked a debate. Some people said the teacher was wrong to reprimand the child, while others believed the child should follow directions.
What are your thoughts on cursive writing? Let us know, and share this story to start the conversation!
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