With a resurgence in interest in cursive writing and states beginning to include it in the curriculum again, cursive writing’s positive effects on building connections and penmanship are outweighing its difficulties.
Despite cursive seeming obsolete and something that is reserved for the older generations, states are deeming it important and have begun reintegrating cursive into the curriculum.
According to Edweek.org, “Less than 10 years ago, only 14 states required schools to teach cursive—but that number has been steadily increasing, with 24 now having some kind of requirement.”
Mycursive.com founder Connie Slone feels even though cursive won’t be as popular or mainstream as it once was, it still has skills and benefits for students that are hard to learn.
“In one sense, cursive will never again be the most prominent form of communication. However, its value to hand-eye coordination and brain development makes it a valuable skill for everyone,” Slone said. “Secondly, its connection to our history is undeniable, from personal family records to important documents.”
According to English teacher Rob Barbadoro, there is a connection between a writer and what they are writing when it comes to paper rather than on a computer.
“There’s something about that tactile experience of actually holding a pencil, and pressing it against a piece of paper, that for some reason helps us to remember what we’re doing,” Barbadoro said. “I think we have a closer connection to it for some reason.
According to Slone, learning cursive can help family connections, allowing people to read old letters from older generations that were written exclusively in cursive.
“For example, if someone is digging into their family history and they find handwritten letters,” Slone said. “That connection of reading a loved one’s cursive, without the need to get an LLM to decode it, can’t be measured. It’s important.”
The decline in cursive, however, has already shown its effect, with the lack of focus on proper penmanship, the quality of it has declined.
According to Barbadoro, there has been a general decrease “in writing skills” and “more students who write illegibly.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, a study concluded that the overall effect of writing by hand is more positive than the overall effect of typing on a computer.
“Writing by hand also improves memory and recall of words,” the National Library of Medicine said.