Does My Child Need to Learn Cursive?
In recent years, the need, or lack thereof, for cursive handwriting instruction has become somewhat of a hot topic in elementary and middle schools across the country. While some parents and teachers argue that cursive is a necessary part of the school curriculum, others argue that cursive writing is a thing of the past that has been replaced by technology. As with most things in this world, there is no right or wrong answer here. If, however, you are on the fence of whether cursive instruction would benefit your child, I have put together a list of thinking points on the topic to help you make the right choice for your family.
A recent study by the University of Montreal (Morin, 2012) found that there were a variety of academic benefits for students who learned cursive writing as compared to learning only print. The results of this study showed that students who were exposed to cursive handwriting scored higher in the areas of word production, spelling, and syntax (sentence structure). That’s a pretty big deal! Students who are strong in these skill areas are likely to have easier success as writers. However, this study also found that students who utilized cursive handwriting produced slower written work than students who wrote in print. One last critical finding from this study was that children who were simultaneously exposed to print & cursive writing scored lower in a majority of the tested academic skill areas.
The major takeaway from this study was that, while there are a variety of academic benefits to learning cursive handwriting, children should be allowed to master one form of writing before beginning on a second form. For most students in the US, they are introduced to print writing before they are exposed to cursive writing. Therefore, we need to make sure we give them plenty of time to master the skills associated with print before we expect them to start working on cursive.
Aside from the academic impacts of cursive writing, we also have to consider the functional impacts. No, students may not be writing final drafts of essays using beautifully practiced cursive anymore. But they still need to develop a critical piece of their identity as they emerge into their teenage years - a signature. Signing our name is a simple and frequent task that many of us probably take for granted, but the basis of creating a legible and professional signature is to know the basics of cursive handwriting. Without these basics, students will likely develop either a swoopy-print signature or a “celebrity signature” … you know… the kind that looks like an abstract drawing but *somehow* is supposed to represent a name. Is there anything wrong with these options? Nope! But it’s definitely something to consider as we try to tease out whether or not cursive writing is in your child’s future.
The last point that I want to touch on is one that I often find is left out of this conversation, but, personally, I think is one of the most important. Learning cursive is not all about writing - it’s also about reading. No, cursive writing is no longer a mandated part of the school curriculum, nor is it often required for students utilize these skills during tests or reports. It is, however, very realistic to think that our students will - at some point- be required to read something presented to them in cursive writing. Whether it be a letter, a thank you note, a signature, etc. - this is something that most adults are presented with on a somewhat regular basis. It is further realistic for us to assume that students who have been explicitly taught cursive handwriting will be able to read cursive with greater ease than students who have not.
Overall, I found that there are many reasons as to why cursive writing can benefit students of all ages - both academically and functionally. However, all of the research clearly points to the fact that students should not be rushed into cursive writing. They should be allowed to truly master print writing before they are exposed to cursive in an effort to promote their success and skill retention long term. Not to mention, the best way to lose a child’s interest is to overwhelm them with skills they aren’t quite ready to learn. Following their lead will give us greater results longterm.
My final opinion? There’s still no right or wrong answer. However, if your child is ready, it seems that there may be more benefits to giving this exposure than not.
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Morin, Marie-France & Natalie, Lavoie & Montésinos-Gelet, Isabelle. (2012). The Effects of Manuscript, Cursive or Manuscript/Cursive Styles on Writing Development in Grade 2. Language and Literacy. 14. 10.20360/G21S3V.