Texas Follows Other US States And Brings Cursive To Elementary Schools

May 27, 2019 by apost team

Cursive writing used to be a widespread, everyday skill. Now in the 21st Century, it's become a controversial topic. Is cursive writing necessary in the Digital Age, or is it just a quaint old method better left to bygone ages?

From a purely practical perspective, several cycles of school graduates have been reduced to printing their names as a signature on official documents and personal checks. Some states are doing something about this, and Texas is one of them.

Many states have removed cursive writing curriculum from their schools. The argument was that in the Digital Age where even the youngest can point and click, why waste time and money teaching cursive? After the third grade, many kids were typing their papers anyway. It wasn't like they couldn't write at all—the schools taught students how to print. Why bother with cursive?

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Texans can be known to have a strong sense of individuality and independence. When cursive was removed from the schools, parents and administrators worked to restore it. They saw cursive as a part of an individual's self-expression. A signature is a mark of authenticity regarding an individual's identity. Texas, along with many other Southern states, realized that this was not something they wanted to rob their future citizens of. A Texas resident, Mark Brassfield was interviewed by KPLCTV on the subject and he said, “I think it’s beneficial because anybody can print. Everybody writes cursive differently from others and that’s how they detect problems.”

Texas is restoring cursive at the beginning of school in September of 2019. The state's Board Of Education updated the Texas Education Code reports People. Beginning in second grade, Texas students will be learning cursive letters and words. They'll use their new cursive writing skills into the fifth grade, and hopefully beyond.

In a study published in Psychological Science, Pam A. Mueller of Princeton and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of UCLA found that there is a correlation between writing by hand and retaining learning as long-term knowledge. Many parents recognized this and turned to programs like "Learning Without Tears" to teach children cursive.

Learn more about the new law in the video below.

Do you think cursive is important? Or is it a waste of time in the 21st Century? Let us know in the comments and be sure to let others see this article so they can know about the curriculum changes too.