Thursday, September 20, 2012

Should Schools Teach Cursive?

Today we read an article in Time For Kids that brought up an interesting question. Should schools teach cursive?



After reading the article and hearing both sides of the debate, come up with your own opinion about this question. Write a short paragraph explaining your opinion. Please use complete sentences with proper punctuation and capitalization.


21 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Should schools teach cursive? I think that schools should teach cursive because it is a nice skill to learn and it is always nice to get a letter in cursive. The other reason why I think we should learn cursive is if you want to read the Constitution you can or if you get a letter that is in cursive you can read it and understand it.

Max C. said...

Yes!I do think schools should still teach cursive because some things are spelled in cursive like... Walgreen's. In high school you have to write a paragraph in cursive.

Emma G. said...

I think cursive should be used in schools. The reason I am saying yes is because cursive is a life lesson. For example if you are taking a test and it says you have to do cursive. Another example is you can't read or write stories in cursive. Also you can't read papers that your teacher gives you if it is in cursive. So I say yes!!!

Daniel k. said...

I say no because we have higher technology to do work on.Also most people on Earth knows how to type on a keypad and cursive takes longer to write.

MEL S. said...

Yes schools should still teach cursive. If schools don't teach cursive kids won't be able to read alot of things like if your mom asks you to read something to her like a letter or something most likely it would be in cursive. Plus you couldn't read alot of things if you were a president because i bet alot of his things are wrote in cursive. You wouldn't even be able to read some e-mails if you changed the font.

RossC. said...

I think kids should use cursive because it is an important skill to learn and when you are in a higher grade, you might be tested on cursive.

Maggie D. said...

"Yes" I think us kids should still learn cursive its good for your hands and your brain.Some kids cant get on a computer and some cant go to the library to use one so us kids should still learn cursive.

Ryan B. said...

Kids should not learn cursive because we use computers in school and at home.And it is easier to read than cursive.

Mel S. said...

I think yes because I think some people want signature in cursive.Plus people need to read documents right?Plus I think if teachers stop teaching cursive some of the student might be sad. Because they want to try to do new things.

Noah s said...

No schools should not teach cursive. Because we have technology to help us with our work. You can under stand it more.

Ethan said...

NO! Because little kids can't read it and it is hard to read and write. In cursive an "h" is a "l" and a "u" put together.

Connor H said...

No! Because we have to learn more important things. We need to learn more important lessons that helps us with later on in life.











Jessie B. said...

Should school teach cursive.Yes I think they should. Why! Well when you get older you will need to use it. You also need it because a lot of historical things are in cursive. So what do you think?

Danielle H said...

YES. Cursive should still be taught. A Reason why it's needed for some pledges. Some documents that can not be erased and is very important to the USA that is written in cursive so we can read it.

Antonio A said...

We should not teach cursive because it is no longer needed anymore because we have technology and its easier to use for school.

Braelynn B. said...

YES! cursive is the best I love it. I think cursive should stay and it is pretty. Yes it it also is fun to write in cursive.

Grant said...

I think they don't need to teach cursive because it takes a little while to do cursive and it takes a couple years to master because you have to do a lot of motions to get the right letter.We also use computers to type documents and letters.

Mina K. said...

Yes I think cursive should be taught
because it is a really fun way of writing and it is really cool because
it looks like squiggly lines.And we cant read cursive if we don't learn it.i think it is important for me to
learn especially because my parents
still write in cursive.So I think we
should because some parents still use
it and if you don't learn cursive you will always write in manuscript.

Rebecca K. said...

YES!!!!!!!!!!
I do think that we should on with writing cursive like Bridget we need to be able to read things that were written in the past and that once you get the hang of it then it is faster than writing in print.

Danielk said...

you would learn cursive before you do it.

KateGladstone said...


Handwriting matters — but does cursive matter? The fastest, clearest handwriters join only some letters: making the easiest joins, skipping others, using print-like forms of letters whose cursive and printed forms disagree. (Sources below.)

Reading cursive matters, but even children can be taught to read writing that they are not taught to produce. Reading cursive can be taught in just 30 to 60 minutes — even to five- or six-year-olds, once they read ordinary print. Why not teach children to read cursive, along with teaching other vital skills, including a handwriting style typical of effective handwriters?

Adults increasingly abandon cursive. In 2012, handwriting teachers were surveyed at a conference hosted by Zaner-Bloser, a publisher of cursive textbooks. Only 37 percent wrote in cursive; another 8 percent printed. The majority, 55 percent, wrote a hybrid: some elements resembling print-writing, others resembling cursive. When most handwriting teachers shun cursive, why mandate it?

Cursive's cheerleaders sometimes allege that cursive makes you smarter, makes you graceful, or confers other blessings no more prevalent among cursive users than elsewhere. Some claim research support, citing studies that consistently prove to have been misquoted or otherwise misrepresented by the claimant.

What about signatures? In state and federal law, cursive signatures have no special legal validity over any other kind. (Hard to believe? Ask any attorney!)

All writing, not just cursive, is individual — just as all writing involves fine motor skills. That is why, six months into the school year, any first-grade teacher can immediately identify (from print-writing on unsigned work) which student produced it.

Mandating cursive to preserve handwriting resembles mandating stovepipe hats and crinolines to preserve the art of tailoring.


SOURCES:

Handwriting research on speed and legibility:

/1/ Steve Graham, Virginia Berninger, and Naomi Weintraub. “The Relation between Handwriting Style and Speed and Legibility.” JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, Vol. 91, No. 5 (May - June, 1998), pp. 290-296: on-line at http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/27542168.pdf

/2/ Steve Graham, Virginia Berninger, Naomi Weintraub, and William Schafer. “Development of Handwriting Speed and Legibility in Grades 1-9.”
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, Vol. 92, No. 1 (September - October, 1998), pp. 42-52: on-line at http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/27542188.pdf


Zaner-Bloser handwriting survey: Results on-line at http://www.hw21summit.com/media/zb/hw21/files/H2937N_post_event_stats.pdf

[AUTHOR BIO: Kate Gladstone is the founder of Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works and the director of the World Handwriting Contest]


Yours for better letters,




Kate Gladstone
Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works
and the World Handwriting Contest
http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com