Texas To Require Students To Learn Writing In Cursive As Part Of Statewide Curriculum

Aug 06, 2020 by apost team

Schools in Texas and 18 other states are reintroducing the lost art of handwriting because they believe cursive can benefit students' brain development.

Can your child read the writing on a can of Coke? Coca Cola's cursive logo might be nothing more than a pattern to some members of Generation Z.

Starting in the 2000s, the state of Texas began eliminating cursive from required school curriculums. Now, it's coming back.

Second graders started learning the art of cursive during the 2019-2020 school year. Teachers and child development specialists believe that physical writing and less screentime aid with children's development.

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Here are five reasons why cursive is coming back to Texas and why other states are following the Lone Star State. Virginia Berninger, a professor at the University of Washington, told the New York Times that putting down words in pen and paper improves literacy. Her studies have shown that writing by hand improves spelling and helps students better understand how letters form words and how words form sentences.

Other educators have noticed that when students take notes by hand, their memory improves. They are able to remember their notes and lessons better. An article in Readers' Digest reports that students who write their SAT essays cursive score higher than those who print. The reason for this is chalked up to better memory retention and a slower, more deliberate thought process.

We still live in a society that requires some handwritten documents. Students who are able to write cursive grow into adults who can sign checks, mortgages, and other documents. They are also able to read cursive and recognize signatures. While many of these exchanges can be completed using digital signatures and forms, handwriting and unique signatures will likely remain important for drivers' licenses and other official forms of identification.

Learning cursive in the classroom is a way to achieve two goals. Students learning calligraphy and handwriting are also participating in an ancient form of art. Some schools have cut back on art courses due to funding or curriculum priorities. Calligraphy and handwriting give students the opportunity to express themselves creatively while still learning a skill.

Texas' cursive curriculum ends by fifth grade. By that time, experts believe that children will have learned cursive well enough to use it regularly. They also believe that children who have used cursive and calligraphy-style writing have benefited from improved eye-hand coordination, left-and-right-brain communication, improved learning and memory, and better language fluency. 

Curriculum changes take time to develop. Elizabeth Giniewicz, the Executive Director of Elementary Curriculum for the Temple Independent School District in Texas, has worked with parents and teachers to introduce the curriculum. According to ABC 25, she cited all of the benefits of cursive and handwriting instruction. However, not all parents were convinced. Some parents believe that learning cursive as a separate subject takes time away from more productive activities. They believe that school should prepare their children for the future and not throw them back to the past.

Where do you and your children's teachers stand when it comes to cursive in the classroom? Are the benefits of cursive worth the time it takes to teach and learn the skill? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to pass this along to other parents to get their stand on it, too.