"Learner for the Future" Cannot Read or Write in Cursive

The fact my younger children were no longer learning how to read and write in cursive was a red flag for me. With this requirement now obsolete, many parents are now reaching out to me with equal concerns. My 7th grader was recently writing a note to a friend who attends HPMS and I asked her why she was printing her note. She replied, "Because my friend says cursive looks like a foreign language."

The resources below explain the importance of teaching cursive writing:

A recent article in Psychology Today cited research showing the benefits of cursive writing:

A recent article in Psychology Today cited research showing the benefits of cursive writing to cognitive development:
Provides children with a clearer understanding of how letters form words, sentences, and meanings.
Teaches reading skills
Improves memory retention
Promotes critical and creative thinking (note taking, mind maps, etc.)

Montessori Services also sites results of fascinating research revealing the benefits of cursive writing in an article published by Psychology Today.

Students "wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard." This study included second, fourth, and sixth graders.
"Cursive writing helps train the brain to integrate visual (and) tactile information, and fine motor dexterity."
The regions of the brain that are activated during reading were "activated during hand writing, but not during typing."

WFAA recently reported on a summer camp designed to teach children cursive writing. It makes me sad to know a child must attend a camp to learn what they should be taught in our public schools.

PBS did a fantastic report on cursive handwriting. Please take a moment to watch this six-minute video and read the important piece that accompanies it.

"Starting in the 1970s, and under the recent implementation of the Common Core, a former pillar of elementary education has been largely forgotten. But there’s a feeling that learning cursive still has value, even in the age of typing and texting.”