Back in the mid-eighties, when I was fresh out of college and looking for a teaching job, I stopped by the Everett School District to apply for a position teaching fifth grade. When I checked in with the receptionist I was handed a piece of notebook paper and a pen and told to write an essay. I forgot what the topic was supposed to be, but I remember specifically being told to write in cursive. Unfortunately, I did not see that coming.
Needless to say, I didn't get that job. But I shook it off and went on to become a third grade teacher. That's the grade in which every American student learns how to write a paragraph, how to multiply and divide, how to subtract with borrowing and (ironically) how to write in cursive.
But that might be changing.
- Cursive looks nice, especially in the context of a thank-you letter.
- Hardly anyone sends letters anymore, and if they do, it's usually done on a computer.
- Cursive is faster than manuscript.
- Not for everyone; besides, computers are even faster.
- If we don't teach kids to write in cursive, they'll never be able to read in cursive.
- That's a stupid reason; an argument that eats itself.
- People need to know cursive in order to sign their name. Especially if they become famous.
- Touche'
I'm not really sure where I stand. The state and the school districts are uncharacteristically vague on the subject. My district simply requires us to teach kids how "to communicate legibly." With all the demands placed on our instructional time (See Tracey's post below) it's hard to justify the time it takes to teach something that most students will never use. On the other hand, I consistently have two or three students in every class who blossom as writers after learning to write in cursive. It might have something to do with increased fluency or maybe they're just proud of how their writing looks. I'm not sure. Other kids, however, find it frustrating.
So as far as I'm concerned, the jury's still out. This year I'm planning to come back from Winter Break and teach cursive to my class. I'm not going to obsess over it, though, and I'm not going to require that they write everything in cursive by the end of the year, as I have in the past. I'll probably teach them a letter or two each day and then have them practice while I read aloud.
And then I'll think about it over the summer and perhaps reconsider. Or perhaps not.
What do you think?
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We had to finagle a way to keep our youngest son from having Mr. C in middle school because he required everything be written in cursive, and our guy just couldn't do it. Hasn't really hurt him. I'd teach cursive as art, and print for utility, and let the kids choose which one they preferred to use for assignments.
(I never use it, but I'm glad I can read it because my mom still writes in it.)
I don't write in cursive. Ever. And I'd rather see kids taught how to keyboard than how to write cursive, because it's a far more useful skill in this day and age. I can see teaching them how to read it, I guess - that could be useful in reading primary source documents in history? But I don't see the point in writing in it, or at least in requiring it.