Should Schools Teach Cursive Writing?

Did you know that many schools do not teach cursive writing as part of the curriculum and it is not included in the Common Core Standards? This issue has caused a lot of debate within the educational community. Most teachers that I’ve asked consider teaching cursive writing a vital skill for children. Consider what we know about how students learn.

It is important to remember that acquiring skills to write, and read, in cursive helps students accomplish much more than just a style of writing and literacy. For starters, recognizing letters written in cursive helps children to differentiate and learn to read different types of text and fonts that they come across with ease. Writing in cursive helps build stronger pathways in the brain for visual perception, a skill that impacts the ability to draw, construct, and visualize 3-dimensional structures. Cursive writing promotes fluidity in speech. Furthermore, this added focus on penmanship forces one to reflect on the words that are being written enhancing vocabulary and intelligence.

Please know, as a teacher with a strong study and practice of “typing pedagogy” (yes, that’s actually a thing), even I understand that keyboarding doesn’t require the same visual skills and eye-hand coordination that cursive writing does. In fact, keyboarding is really a motor-skill that improves with practice. Cursive writing, on the other hand, is an ability to decipher and communicate with fluency.

The 21st century curriculum must include teaching cursive writing. Students who can recognize, read and write in cursive will transition and thrive into the future with grit and grace.

Some food for thought:

• How can you open opportunities for students by including cursive writing in your curriculum?
• Use cursive for signs and notes to students.
• Parents, write in cursive at home for everything. Your children will want to learn to know what it says.

Learn more about standards in teaching by enrolling in the online continuing education course: Integrating Standards in Teaching.

About the Author
Ellen Paxton is a respected expert in education and best known as the Chief Learning Officer of Professional Learning Board. As a two-time National Board Certified Teacher, Ellen has successfully published and customized online professional development courses and Learning Management Systems for 20 years to help teachers meet their state continuing education renewal credit requirements. Through ProfessionalLearningBoard.com, RenewaTeachingLicense.com, and ConnectedPD.com. Ellen has established solutions and maintained partnerships with several accredited universities, higher education institutions, teachers’ unions and state Departments of Education while setting strategic direction that makes a difference and overseeing implementation of popular online PD.