Cursive handwriting instruction in the United States

In the United States, cursive was the primary method of handwriting until the late 20th century. Today, cursive is taught alongside standard handwriting in some US public schools. Due to multiple factors including stylistic choices, difficulty of use, and technological advancement, the use of cursive has quickly declined since the start of the 21st century, with most public schools no longer providing mandatory cursive instruction as per Common Core standards.

Proponents of cursive instruction may argue that it is important for overall psychomotor skills, improves penmanship, or needs to be preserved akin to an endangered language. Critics may argue that cursive instruction is unnecessary due to its perceived lack of necessity, waste of educational time and tax dollars, and general lack of use by students and professionals.

History

Cursive has traditionally been used as a way of signing one's name, a signature, and is considered a very important skill.

No Child Left Behind

When the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented, several changes were made to the classroom curriculum. One of those changes, that has been frequently altered, is the requirement for cursive handwriting. The U.S. Department of Education has provided updates of the changes as they are implemented into the school systems. The general curriculum states that by 5th grade, students use cursive exclusively and give oral presentations.[1] While there have been more recent updates of the required curriculum for primary schools nationwide, cursive handwriting has been an essential part of reading and writing instruction.

Current Events

Many schools have removed cursive handwriting instruction from their curriculum. A news article from 2013 claims that a new bill could require cursive writing in schools again.[2] While the bill was filed in North Carolina, it is something that is being conversed about in many of the states of America. If the bill is approved, it will alter the curriculum to include cursive handwriting instruction.[2] "These schools would be required to provide instruction for students to create legible, cursive documents by the end of the fifth grade."[2] Under the LCS cursive guidelines, student's are not expected to be completely proficient in cursive writing by the end of the fifth grade but be able to use the skill.[2] When the system was revisited, after the skill was taken out of the core requirements, school therapists reported that some students struggled with manuscript but excelled in cursive writing.[2] Several students interviewed said they enjoy writing in cursive for reasons such that "you can write faster than normal," "you can use it as you get older," and "it helps you learn more."[2] Students in Atlantic Shores Christian School, in Virginia, say that there is no substitute for cursive handwriting instruction.[3] Cursive is something you need to sign your name in a legal document, "it teaches you to get more muscles in your hand," and "because it's fun...you get to do different symbols than normal."[3] Many schools have adopted keyboarding as an alternative to cursive handwriting instruction. Because cursive handwriting instruction has been removed from the mandatory curriculum, schools around the country are debating whether or not to spend teaching resources on penmanship.[4] It is unknown whether or not the next generation will be taught to read manuscripts, although the sentiment, "Nobody reads handwriting anymore," expressed by Luis von Ahn, seems to encourage the idea that cursive handwriting instruction may become obsolete in the near future.[4]

gollark: Yes, Cezanne is apparently monolithic.
gollark: AMD do that? I thought all the APU stuff was one die for better power consumption.
gollark: I don't disagree that in practice you're probably fine using popular cryptographic stuff, I just don't like people wrongly saying that things are "mathematically proven".
gollark: Fascinating.
gollark: Obviously nobody has publicly disclosed how to break them (except with quantum computers), but that doesn't mean it's not possible, and the NSA hires a lot of mathematicians.

References
  1. "2008 No Child Left Behind- Blue Ribbon Schools Program". U.S. Department of Education. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  2. Morgan, Jessika (March 20, 2013). "New Bill Could Require Cursive Writing In School Again". The Free Press (Kinstin, North Carolina).
  3. Winborn, Tracy (July 4, 2011). "Writing in Cursive: Skill Lost on America's Youth?". CBN News. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  4. "Schools Debate Cursive Handwriting Instruction Nationwide". The Huffington Post. May 30, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.