Running head: WRITE OR WRONG?

Is Cursive Writing A Necessary Skill To Succeed In i!e?

"anet #elly
Western Oregon $niversity
%re&ared !or
'r( )ary *ucy
'r( Gregory +o,el
S&ring -./0
WRITE OR WRONG? -
A written word is the choicest of relics. It is more intimate with us and
more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest
to life itself. Henry David Thoreau Walden
Is Cursive Writing A Necessary Skill To Succeed In i!e?
1aving the a,ility to e!!ectively co22unicate 3ith others has al3ays ,een a necessary
skill !or the survival o! our 3orld( 4ro2 stick !igures and hierogly&hics on cave 3alls to the
&rinting &ress to the *raille al&ha,et5 co22unication has al3ays included so2e !or2 o! &hysical
3riting( Writing gives us the a,ility to learn a,out our &ast and gives us another 3ay to share our
thoughts and actions 3ith !uture generations( It is necessary !or one to kno3 a,out their &ast so
that they can learn !ro2 it and 2ake ,etter choices than those 3ho have gone on ,e!ore the2(
earning a,out one6s &ast al3ays re7uires 3ork5 3hich includes reading di!!erent ty&es o!
2aterials and !illing out docu2ents(
Children have s&ent hours in class and at ho2e learning to &rint and &ractice cursive
3riting( 4or 2any children it gave the2 an outlet !or their creative side5 3hile !or others this
3as a necessary evil( 1o3ever5 this 3as re7uired ,ecause !or centuries it has ,een an i2&ortant
li!e skill to kno3 in order to ,e success!ul in society( Even in today6s high tech 3orld5 it is still
an i2&ortant skill to have ,ecause 3ithout the a,ility to &rint and do cursive hand3riting5 &eo&le
3ould not ,e a,le to 3rite letters5 !ill out 8o, a&&lications5 a&&ly !or a driver6s license5 take
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college entrance e:a2s5 or sign a check( Cursive 3riting is a skill that 3ill al3ays ,e needed
regardless o! advances in technology(
So2e &eo&le 7uestion 8ust ho3 relevant cursive 3riting is in our technology;laden 3orld
and i! there is any true value in continuing to teach this skill to our children5 2ost o! 3ho2 3ere
raised 3ith co2&uters and other technological gadgets( In order to deter2ine ho3 i2&ortant
cursive 3riting is to our 3orld5 one has to kno3 a,out the history o! cursive 3riting and 3hy
&revious generations thought that it 3as such a valua,le skill to have( There has al3ays ,een a
need to ,e a,le to co22unicate 3ith others in a variety o! 3ays( This 3as i2&ortant in order to
record events5 ,usiness dealings5 tell one6s li!e story5 and share one6s !eelings 3ith another( The
!irst 3ritten language 3as done 3ith dra3ings5 on 3alls5 rocks5 to2,s5 and &a&yrus in
)eso&ota2ia around 0...;9<.. *(C( Around 9... *(C(5 the Egy&tians started their o3n
dra3ings5 called hierogly&hs( Eventually5 these hierogly&hs ,egan to re&resent sylla,les instead
o! o,8ects( At the sa2e ti2e that this 3as occurring5 the Egy&tians develo&ed a t3enty;!our
letter consonant al&ha,et( Conse7uently5 2any o! the hierogly&hs !ro2 that ti2e contained ,oth
&honogra2s and &ictogra&hs( Over ti2e5 these hierogly&hs ,eca2e less accurate and started to
lose their 2eaning5 &artly ,ecause it 3as di!!icult to learn and so2e sy2,ols had 2ore than one
2eaning =4lorey5 -..>?(
Another i2&ortant grou& that hel&ed 3ith the develo&2ent o! our 3riting syste2 3ere
the %hoenicians( The %hoenicians5 ,e!ore /.<. *C5 develo&ed the !irst letter syste2 to ,e ,ased
on sounds instead o! sylla,les( They only used t3enty;si: letters5 instead o! the hundreds that
had &reviously ,een used( This letter syste2 evolved over ti2e to ,eco2e the 2odern al&ha,et
syste2 that 3e kno3 today( Although the 2odern al&ha,et syste2 is called Ro2an5 it originally
ca2e !ro2 the Greeks( Over ti2e the instru2ents used !or5 and the style and ty&e o! 3riting that
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&eo&le used also drastically changed( The 3riting styles 3ere constantly trans!or2ing ,et3een
e:travagant and si2&le5 2ore legi,le styles( In her ,ook5 Script and scribble The rise and fall
of handwritin!5 4lorey =-..>? discusses the con!lict ,et3een esthetic and !unctionality:
This syndro2e characteri@es 2uch o! the history o! hand3riting5 3hich 3as
driven at least &artly ,y the tension ,et3een aesthetics and utility( Writing
designed &ri2arily !or ,usinessAhas traditionally ,een a,out s&eed and legi,ility(
Writing used !or literary or religious &ur&oses could ,e 2ore leisurely and hence
2ore decorative5 driven ,y the si2&le desire !or ,eauty;;or sho32anshi& =&( 9B;
9C?(
In other 3ords5 during the ti2e that 3riting syste2s 3ere ,eing develo&ed5 there 3as a
,attle !or a si2&le5 !ast5 and legi,le style and a desire to have a !ancy5 2ore elo7uent style( As
soon as one style 3as develo&ed5 so2eone 3ould co2e along and 2ake a !ancier version o! it(
Over ti2e5 the !ancier version ,eca2e too &lain and a ne3 version 3ould evolve( These ,attles
lead to hand3riting trans!or2ing 2any ti2es over the centuriesD one o! the 3riting styles that
had ,een evolving 3as cursive( Cursive 3riting ,egan around the !i!teenth century 3ith the
invention o! Italic 3riting( It changed over ti2e until the /E..6s5 3hen %latt Rogers S&encer
re!ined it( The &ri2ary &ur&ose o! cursive 3riting 3as to have a 3ay to 3rite !aster and still
have it ,e legi,le( S&encer 3as also concerned 3ith the 3riting ,eing attractive =4lorey5 -..>?(
Al!red 4air,anks =/>C<?5 author o! The story of handwritin! ori!ins and development5 states that
F1and3riting is a !unctional thing5 intended !or co22unicating and recording thought( It is to
,e read5 and there!ore legi,ility is an essential virtueG =&(/9?( 4air,anks ,elieved that the sole
&ur&ose o! hand3riting 3as to disse2inate in!or2ationD conse7uently it needs to ,e easy to read(
One ty&e o! legi,le 3riting 3as the S&encerian 2ethod(
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The S&encerian 2ethod o! 3riting5 3hich 3as ,ased on natural !or2s5 3as taught in
schools !or years5 until A( N( %al2er develo&ed another !or2 o! cursive 3riting in the t3entieth
century( According to 4lorey =-..>?5 F%al2er 3as another lover o! letters 3ho 3anted nothing
2ore than to si2&li!y &en2anshi&5 to trans!or2 it into Hra&id5 &lain5 unshaded5 coarse;&en5
2uscular 2ove2ent 3riting6 G =&(CC?( 1is 2ethod o! 3riting survived in schools until />EC5 a!ter
3hich a variety o! 2ethods have ,een taught in schools( %al2er 3anted to develo& a 7uick and
legi,le style o! 3riting !or ,usiness &eo&le in the econo2ic !ield( 1is style o! 3riting 3as taught
in schools to teach students a uni!or2 2ethod o! &en2anshi&(
A nu2,er o! educational e:&erts5 &oliticians5 and &arents o! school children have ,een
suggesting5 !or several years no35 that the need to learn cursive hand3riting is drastically
3aning( They ,elieve that5 due to the e:&ansion o! technology and technological gadgets5
cursive hand3riting is a li!e skill that 3ill no longer ,e necessary in the !uture( They ,elieve that
it is 2ore i2&ortant to teach children ho3 to use co2&uters and key,oards5 3hich is su&&osed to
,e the 3ave o! the !uture( 1o3ever5 other educational e:&erts5 &oliticians5 and &arents 7uestion
3hether or not this is the ,est course o! action !or our children( They ,elieve there is still a value
in kno3ing ho3 to do cursive hand3riting( Still others ,elieve that it is i2&ortant !or !uture
generations to have ,oth o! these skills( )y o3n vie3 is that technology 3ill never co2&letely
take a3ay the need !or &eo&le to 3rite( I ,elieve there are so2e things that 3e 3ill never ,e a,le
to do 3ith a 2achineD I &ersonally do not ,elieve 3e 3ill ever get to a &oint in our lives that 3e
3ill no longer have any use !or cursive 3riting(
When the Co22on Core State Standards !or English 3as develo&ed in -./.5 it o2itted
teaching cursive 3riting !ro2 the curriculu2( Instead5 it e2&hasi@ed teaching co2&uter and
key,oarding skills to students( It also le!t it u& to the individual states to decide 3hether or not
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teaching cursive 3riting should ,e a re7uire2ent( This has o&ened u& the de,ate on 3hether or
not cursive 3riting should even ,e taught in schools( O! the 0< states that have ado&ted the
Co22on Core Standards5 teachers in seven o! the2;;Cali!ornia5 Idaho5 Indiana5 #ansas5
)assachusetts5 North Carolina5 and $tah;; have decided to !ight to kee& learning cursive 3riting
as a re7uire2ent( These teachers have decided that there is still a value in teaching this skill to
their students =1oag5 -./-?( %ro&onents o! learning cursive 3riting cite several reasons 3hy
they !eel it is i2&ortant to kno3 cursive: everyone needs to kno3 ho3 to sign their na2e on
legal docu2ents5 it increases one6s !ine 2otor skills5 aids in ,rain develo&2ent5 increases a
&erson6s reading skills5 leads to an increase in creativity5 and it is a !aster !or2 o! 3riting than
&rint =1oag5 -./-?( Another reason is having the a,ility to read historical docu2ents5 like the
'eclaration o! Inde&endence and old letters =+u,r@ycki5 -./-?( These are all valid reasons !or
learning cursive 3riting5 ,ut they 2ay not ,e enough to 8usti!y the ti2e and 2oney that it costs
to teach it(
In the ne3s article5 FSu22it to 2ake a case !or teaching hand3riting5G #athleen Wright5
national &roduct coordinator !or +aner;*loser stated F1and3riting instruction needs to ,e doneG
=+u,r@ycki5 -./-?( %a2 *ates5 a &arent5 also su&&orts hand3riting in another article entitled5
FSchools de,ate cursive hand3riting instruction nation3ide5G
I a,solutely get that 3e6re 2oving in a 3orld that6s technology;,ased5 ,ut I62 o!
the old school that ,elieves you can6t !orget 3here you ca2e !ro2 to get 3here
you6re going( There could ,e a day the co2&uter crashes(G =Gillis5 -.//?
%a2 *ates understands that our 3orld has ,eco2e technology heavy5 and 3ill continue to
do soD ,ut she does not ,elieve that this is a valid reason to sto& teaching cursive
hand3riting in schools( 1er argu2ent is that it is i2&ortant !or today6s students to kno3
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and a&&reciate ho3 co22unication evolved in our 3orld and ho3 it leads to the 3orld o!
technology that 3e no3 have( 1er o&inion is that co2&uters are not !ool;&roo! and
&eo&le 3ill need to kno3 ho3 to co22unicate in 3riting5 3hen their co2&uters and
other technological tools sto& 3orking( Technology can sto& !unctioning at any ti2e5 ,ut
our 3orld 3ill not sto& 3ith it( We 3ill need to continue !unctioning5 even i! it is 3ith
old;!ashioned 2ethods( %eo&le 3ho only kno3 ho3 to co22unicate 3ith their
technological gadgets 3ill not ,e a,le to !unction 3ithout the25 3hich 3ill &ut the2 at a
great disadvantage(
On the other side o! the de,ate5 o&&onents o! learning cursive 3riting 3ould say no to
teaching cursive hand3riting in schools( There is a valid re,uttal !or every reason given !or
kee&ing cursive 3riting a re7uire2ent( 4or e:a2&le5 it is not necessary to ,e a,le to sign your
na2e on docu2ents ,ecause it is legal to 8ust &rint your na2e on the2( They also ,elieve that
cursive 3riting is not !aster than &rinting and that ty&ingIkey,oarding is even !aster( So2e o!
the2 are also not convinced that it hel&s 3ith ,rain develo&2ent or !ine 2otor skills( While
others do not ,elieve that historical docu2ents 3ritten in cursive are unreada,le to so2eone 3ho
has not learned cursive hand3riting5 since you can easily read these docu2ents on the Internet in
&rint(
In the &reviously 2entioned ne3s article5 Susana Cordova states5
In 2any res&ects5 it6s only inside our schools 3here 3e see such e2&hasis on
&a&er and &encil( The 2ove outside our schools5 and in innovative schools5 is
to3ard technology( There 3ill al3ays ,e a role !or the 3ritten 3ord ,y hand on
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&a&er( *ut the e:&eriences 2ost o! us have5 3ith 9. 2inutes a day &racticing
cursive in class5 has gone ,y the 3aysideG =+u,r@ycki5 -./-?(
)s( Cordova is stating that even though kno3ing ho3 to 3rite in cursive is i2&ortant5 it
is only i2&ortant in the educational setting ,ecause the rest o! the 3orld is 2oving
!or3ard 3ith technology( She does not ,elieve that teaching cursive 3riting in schools
3ill ,e a,le to survive the advances that are ,eing 2ade in technology( Steve Graha2
rein!orces her &oint ,y stating5 in the article5 FSo2e states ,uck the trend and &reserve
&en2anshi&G5 F'o you really need to learn t3o di!!erent scri&ts? There 3ill ,e &lenty o!
kids 3ho donJt learn cursive( The 2ore i2&ortant skill no3 is ty&ing(G
1o3ever5 the 2ain reason that is given !or not teaching cursive 3riting in schools is the
!act that al2ost everything is done on a co2&uter these days( )ost tests are also given on
co2&uters and 2any teachers re7uire &a&ers to ,e ty&ed out( This leads 2any &eo&le to !eel that
cursive 3riting is a skill that 3ill ,e used less and less in the !uture( Teachers also have the added
stress o! not having enough ti2e to teach their students everything that they need to kno3(
Conse7uently5 they cannot 8usti!y the ti2e and 2oney5 3hich could ,e in the 2illions that it takes
to teach cursive 3riting( Though I concede that today6s students need to ,e &ro!icient in using
technology5 I still insist that there is also a need to kno3 ho3 to 3rite in cursive( Not every
school district is technology rich5 3ith co2&uters and technological gadgets5 and 2any students
still do not have their o3n co2&uter or have access to one outside o! school( These students
have no choice ,ut to 3rite out their assign2ents and I ,elieve that cursive 3ould ,e !aster and
2ore &ro!essional looking !or the2( There also 3ill still ,e a need !or &eo&le to !ill out
docu2ents and sign !or2s( 4or e:a2&le5 not all 8o, a&&lications are on;line5 and even so2e o!
the ones that are re7uire a&&licants to 3rite out their ans3ers to su&&le2ental 7uestions( %eo&le
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3ill still need to sign their checks and their driver6s license5 along 3ith loan and !inancial aid
&a&ers(
To su22ari@e5 I ,elieve that there is a need !or today6s students to learn the skill o!
cursive 3riting as 3ell as ,e &ro!icient on a key,oard( I contend that there is roo2 in our 3orld
!or ,oth o! these skills( Steve Graha2 agrees 3hen he states5 FWe don6t live in a hand3riting
3orld5 and 3e don6t live in a digital 3orld( We live in a hy,rid 3orldG =+u,r@ycki5 -./-?(
4lorey =-..>? !urther states5
I! 3e lived in an ideal 3orld5 no one 3ould 3rite illegi,ly5 and no one 3ould have
to hunt and &eck 3hen !aced 3ith a key,oard5 either( The dual skills o!
hand3riting and ty&ing are ,oth 3ays o! &utting 3ords on &a&er;;o! setting do3n
our thoughts and ideas5 o! co22unication 3ith others( *oth 2ethods have value(
The i2&ortant ele2ent is !luency5 3hether on the key,oard or 3ith the &en(
Either 3ay5 the act o! 3riting needs to ,e auto2atic5 !reeing u& our ,rains !or
3hat they6re ,est at: thinking( Why can6t the key,oard and the &en lie do3n
together like the lion and the la2, and live in har2ony? =&( /E<;/EB?(
I agree 3ith Graha2 and 4lorey that cursive hand3riting still needs to ,e taught
to students5 a &oint that needs e2&hasi@ing since so 2any &eo&le ,elieve that cursive
3riting is a skill that is no longer needed in our society( 4lorey 3ould like to see the skill
o! 3riting in cursive survive in our technological 3orld( She ,elieves that there is a value
in kno3ing ho3 to 3rite in cursive5 even i! you are !luent on the key,oard( I agree 3ith
her5 I ,elieve that there could never ,e anything 3rong 3ith5 and there could actually ,e
advantages to5 kno3ing 2ore than one 3ay to do so2ething(
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Click this link to take the survey(
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Re!erences
4air,anks5 A( =/>C.?( The story o! hand3riting origins and develo&2ent( Ne3 Kork5 Watson;
Gu&till %u,lications(
4air,anks5 A( =/>C<?( A hand3riting 2anual( Ne3 Kork5 Watson;Gu&till %u,lications(
4lorey5 #(*( =-..>?( Scri&t and scri,,le: The rise and !all o! hand3riting( Ne3 Kork5 )elville
1ouse %u,lishing(
1oag5 C( =-./-?( So2e states ,uck the trend and &reserve &en2anshi&( $SA Today(
Retrieved !ro2
htt&:II333(usatoday(co2IstoryIne3sInationI-./-I//I-0Icali!ornia;cursive;&en2anshi&;
technologyI/C-0-B9I
Gillis5 C( =-.//?( Schools de,ate cursive hand3riting instruction nation3ide( 1u!!ington %ost(
Retrieved !ro2
htt&:II333(hu!!ington&ost(co2I-.//I.9I9.Icursive;hand3riting;instrLnLE0-.B>(ht2l
+u,r@ycki5 "( =-./-?( Su22it to 2ake a case !or teaching hand3riting( Education Week(
Retrieved !ro2
htt&:II333(ed3eek(orgIe3IarticlesI-./-I./I-<I/Ehand3ritingLe&(h9/(ht2l?
tknMTNK4%@3l4,c@NE$SASNROnGy%.k*.3ytO$dOPa2&Dc2&Mcl&;
ed3eekP&rintM/