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March 17, 2017

Cursive Writing Is Making a Much-Needed Comeback in Schools

Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina distributed a handbook on teaching cursive writing in September and is encouraging principals to use it.

It cites research suggesting that fluent cursive helps students master writing tasks such as spelling and sentence construction because they don't have to think as much about forming letters. Malliotakis also noted that students who can't read cursive will never be able to read historical documents. "If an American student cannot read the Declaration of Independence, that is sad." -- Town and Country

Posted by gerardvanderleun at March 17, 2017 12:55 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

They tried to force cursive down my throat in grade school in the '30s, but I was a printer, am a printer, and always will be a printer. If legible cursive had been demanded for promotion, I would still be in 1st grade.

Posted by: BillH at March 17, 2017 1:48 PM

I question the validity, veracity, and universality of what the "...research suggests ..."
Do these same students receive training in creating and solving/analyzing logic puzzles?
What training is given in critical thinking?
In this age of lies, obfuscations, dissembling, and pervasive stinking thinking, how will the young learn to recognize the false and the true?
What are the priorities?
Teach the children well.

Posted by: Howard Nelson at March 17, 2017 2:07 PM

I've never had a particularly elegant handwriting style, but I see now the value of learning cursive back in the 60's. I think it was good for developing my fine motor control, and it is sort a link to the past, a subtle way of making kids into historical re-enactors. And it does set words down on paper faster.

Posted by: Monty James at March 17, 2017 6:57 PM

It also helps straighten out dyslexic readers and spellers. Especially, the whole language induced dyslexia. I did a lot of research after I brought home my kids from government school. It took a great deal of writing to cure her. The one of the most effective ways to help a dyslexic student is to write cursive on a chalkboard.

Posted by: Leslie at March 18, 2017 10:55 AM

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