California's New Cursive Mandate
In California, there is a new mandate to teach cursive writing. Cursive has not been required since 2010, so some teachers were covering it, and some weren’t. I am certified as a handwriting specialist with Handwriting Without Tears, but I also work with students with learning disabilities, so I have some thoughts about this.
While it is true that cursive handwriting helps you sign your name and read old documents, I don’t like the idea of it being mandated for all children. Every child is different, and some may struggle significantly with cursive. In those situations, a teacher should have the flexibility to teach print, keyboarding, or whatever works best for the child.
If I had to choose between print and cursive, I would select print because the most important thing is to be clearly understood by your readers.
On the one hand, the cursive mandate is frustrating because the schools my children attended didn’t even teach print! I would have liked to see this issue tackled first. In my city, teaching printing only happens in kindergarten, if it is taught at all. There is no reinforcement and practice through the years. Our district supposedly uses Handwriting Without Tears, but putting workbooks on desks is not teaching. When I subbed in special education, I found that they did not have Handwriting Without Tears books, although the mainstream classes did. This is backward since the HWT program is designed to help students with learning issues.
If I had to choose between print and cursive, I would select print because the most important thing is to be clearly understood by your readers. Also, it is still used frequently on forms (doctor’s office, passport, etc.).
However, cursive writing does have several benefits. In my work, I frequently see children who struggle to print but learn cursive without difficulty. It is counterintuitive, but cursive uses a different part of the brain, the same part used for drawing. It also reduces the number of pencil pick-ups, where children must lift their pencils and find a new starting place. That may sound easy, but if you have ADHD, dysgraphia, dyslexia, etc., it can be very challenging.
There is also ample research on the benefits of cursive writing:
Cursive—which is essentially connected printing—builds upon an already established motor and cognitive skill, thus enabling students to quickly master a skill that helps them write more quickly and fluently. Fast, fluent writing is critical in meeting the demands of today’s classrooms. Research has shown that in regard to the speed and quality of writing, spelling, and text construction, students who learned cursive benefited most particularly in spelling and syntax (Bartlett 2018). Therefore, the ability to write in cursive enables students to complete assignments quickly and take tests in a timely manner.1
A survey conducted by Learning Without Tears found that 85 percent of teachers had not received any training to teach handwriting as part of their undergraduate or postgraduate degree coursework (Stepping Into Handwriting 2011). 2
Studies have shown that taking notes during an educational class using handwriting is preferable to typing. That’s because when we type, we’re able to transcribe speech almost verbatim. When we write, we have to be more selective and the brain has to process information to decide what’s important enough to write down. That level of brain engagement tends to make information “stick” rather than just pass through our typing fingers.3
It is often a good idea to teach cursive. However, all elementary educators must receive training in how to teach print, cursive, and keyboarding so they can make informed decisions about what is best for each child.
Resources and more information:
Take a look at products and training and learn why this program is a top choice. They now have on-demand videos to learn how to teach, although their in-person trainings are fun and include free products. They have a digital curriculum for SmartBoards and distance learning, too.
You might like this curriculum if you are looking for a homeschool curriculum or teach a small class. It is almost identical to HWT, but uses traditional paper - top line, middle dotted line, and bottom line (HWT uses a two-line system which is meant to unclutter the paper, but some children have a hard time with it). The products are downloadable and usually cheaper than HWT. There is some instruction for educators as well.
The best of both worlds is to get the in-person training from HWT and then purchase whichever curriculum works best for you.
Footnotes:
So interesting! But as so often happens I feel like the issue isn’t cursive, but the way it is made mandatory for everyone! Like you said. My daughter learned cursive first and loved it, it was easier for her. My son.. not so much. All kids are so different it makes no sense to make blanket rules like this.
You showed such restraint in your reflection. My first thought on the topic was MANDATED? What the ...? Why don’t leaders mandate a district to offer paid training to teachers so they can add skills to their teaching? And why does it always seem that these tasks fall on a teacher’s shoulders. My husband and I decided it was important enough for the kids to know cursive, so we wrote messages (as in the current wi-fi password) in cursive. And my son finally learned to write when a friend wrote to him in cursive.