Controversy Over Cursive

Twenty years ago ---- eek that's how long it has been since I graduated from high school, cursive was a given in the curriculum. Teachers used it, students had to be able to read it and write it. I can remember copying copious notes from the board in cursive. Cursive

A lot has changed in those two decades. I now reserve cursive for signing checks and other documents. I rarely find I need to read something in cursive, other than perhaps a name. Typing, however, has become an absolute necessity.

How important is cursive? With all the content that has been added, not to mention accountability.... how valuable is it? Do we need to spend time as early as third grade on teaching cursive?

What do you think?

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocherdraco/88217480/

Comments

Anonymous said…
As a behaviorist, I know cursive is dead for many students. As a traditionalist and a wannabe artist, I wish it were still relevant. Not sure which side of my personality should win out!
January 12, 2009 at 5:49 PM
dbittner said…
I don't believe the teaching of cursive handwriting takes up that much instructional time. If teachers are creative with their schedules, it can be done! If teachers would also be more efficient with the time they do have in the classroom, we will not have to lose the art of cursive handwriting. Keyboarding has certainly taken over as a priority in our schools, but what happens to our students down the road when they must take handwritten tests (I did for my Principal K-12 certification exam.....6 hours of short and long essay exam questions!)for entrance into colleges or other post-secondary educational pursuits? Certain job positions may require a handwritten response to interview questions. My teacher interviews always have. I see my cursive handwriting style as a part of my identity. What teacher hasn't been able to determine ownership of a student's work, when they have failed to write their name on their paper, simply by knowing their handwriting style? I vote to continue instruction in cursive handwriting.
January 18, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planning for Differentiation

Image
An article in the Washington Post, Schools Look At Providing More Time For Teachers caught my eye recently which looks at teacher planning time. As you might imagine, teachers feel they lack planning time.... and they may have a point. The amount of planning time has stayed constant while requirements for inclusion and accountability have increased. My question is do we design curriculum to address these challenges from the onset or do we expect teachers to plan lessons, adjust their instruction for a variety of diverse learners, grade assignments, connect with parents and other colleagues, make copies in a 40 minute planning period? Why not differentiate the curriculum from the beginning? The graphic to the left depicts the Curriculum Planning Pyramid (Schumm, Vaughn, & Leavell, 1994) which represents how curriculum might be organized to meet the needs of all learners. The base represents the most important concepts you want ALL STUDENTS to learn. The middle layer represents
Read more

Luau as a Metaphor for School Improvement

Image
The luau, once called the aha aina, was an event that was designed to unite the participants and foster good will, thanks and praise. The purpose of the luau could have been to celebrate accomplishments, honor heroes or gods, or commemorate important events. While some ancient foods represented strength or virility, other foods might symbolize virtues or goals the participants hoped to achieve (from To-Hawaii.com) A luau, in other words, is all about reflection. What is going well? What are the next steps? This is exactly what our school improvement teams did last week. They reflected on the level of implementation of their plan and the level of effectiveness. Participants spent the morning going through their plans goal by goal – looking back toward accomplishments and looking forward to next steps. We over-laid these discussions with information on managing and effectively facilitating change. We read Implications for School Leaders Facilitating Change , which is from H
Read more