When was the last time you used cursive? What was it for? Can you sign your name? What changes would it make in your everyday life if you couldn’t sign your name? This is the reality for students all over America.
In 2010 the U.S government removed cursive writing from the required Common Core Standards for K-12 education. Sue Pimentel, one of the writers of the English/language standards, explained that the removal was about priorities and that learning to use technology took precedence, according to ¨Why Don't the Common-Core Standards Include Cursive Writing?¨ Ever since, educators, parents, and students argue about whether or not cursive should be taught. Some argue that not only will cursive be used in the future for students to sign their name, but it helps improve things like memory, fine motor skills, and trains the brain to learn functional specialization. On the other hand, people against teaching cursive believe that technology and typing have become more relevant while learning cursive just gets in the way.
In an interview with Mrs. Matisi, a third grade teacher at Lowellville, she expressed her opinion on cursive writing being taught in school. The school district made teaching cursive unrequired in 2010, but she still continues to teach it. She believes that it should be taught and that it does more than teach a different style of handwriting. She says it teaches motor skills, can be used in many different subjects, and teaches spelling, proper nouns, and grammar. She has observed that some students actually do better in cursive than print because cursive is continuous while with print the writing utensil needs to be lifted. She starts teaching cursive at the beginning of the year and ends before winter break or the beginning of January. Mrs. Matisi teaches cursive by how the strokes go, not alphabetically. Her class does learn a letter a day, a practice sheet, and she finds ways to incorporate it with other subjects. When asked about the importance of technology compared to cursive writing, she says that they are equally important. With the rise of technology in everyday life she believes that it's best if both subjects coexist. Mrs. Matisi also added that students are excited to learn cursive and love to write their name.
Mrs. DeLuca was also interviewed on the importance of cursive in schools. She says that a handful of students in seventh and eighth grade cannot read or write in cursive. Sometimes when Mrs. DeLuca writes feedback in cursive, her students cannot read it. She believes that cursive should be required in schools. She feels it is a necessary skill especially for the future. Things such as reading and writing letters, signing your own name, and reading documents are reasons why students should learn cursive writing in schools..
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