Cursive Handwriting: Extinct As The Dodo Bird

As unbelievable as it sounds, many schools are no longer teaching kids to write in cursive. OK, so maybe it's not that unbelievable for a lot of younger folks, but it sure was shocking for me to learn of this.

Handwriting becoming a lost art as fewer schools teach cursive
By Diane D'Amico, Staff Writer | Press Of Atlantic City

"New Jersey Department of Education language arts standards used to require that students be able to write legibly in manuscript or cursive by the end of third grade. But the state has since adopted the national Common Core Standards, which do not include cursive at all and put more direct emphasis on technology... Now third grade students are expected to use keyboarding skills to produce and publish writing."

Cursive handwriting being erased from public schools
By T. Rees Shapiro | The Washington Post

"For many students, cursive is becoming as foreign as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. In college lecture halls, more students take notes on laptops and tablet computers than with pens and notepads."

The New Script for Teaching Handwriting Is No Script at All
By Valerie Buerlein | The Wall Street Journal

"... children will no longer be able to read the Declaration of Independence...

It is becoming increasingly rare to even have to sign your name. By 2016, nearly half of all home loans could be closed electronically, meaning that thousands of people will buy homes without having to physically sign their names, according to a recent survey by Xerox Mortgage Services."
"ABC5 KSTP (Minnesota)"


~ ~ ~Let me start off my commentary with a little bit of my family history. My dad who was born in 1900 grew up on a farm about 4 miles to the West of Lehighton, Pennsylvania. He attended a one room school house with about 15 other kids that were of all ages. They either rode horses or walked to school. Conditions at the school required they help gather firewood to heat the school. Sweep out the school or even help with repairs. The older kids were required to tutor the younger kids in the grades below them while the teacher worked with older kids then they. 9th grade was considered the equivalent to today's H.S. graduation. So by the time he was about 14 or 15 he was done with his education and ready to go to work on the farm.

Keep in mind my dad finished his education way back in 1915. Yet when I went to school in the 50's and 60's he was able to help me with fractions, square root and some very basic algebra. And yes he knew how to write in longhand (cursive writing). Isn't it amazing with only 9 years education, despite the numerous chores that kids don't have to do at today's schools, he was still able to learn what kids are not being taught in many of today's schools.

How was it possible that my dad's one teacher back in the early 1900's could teach all 9 grade levels of reading, writing, arithmetic, science and history. This while seeing to it that the wood necessary to heat the room was supplied and the stove was stoked. The room and outhouse was cleaned and maintained. That the horses waiting outside were watered and fed during the day. You mean to tell me with the millions of dollar$ that we spend every year for a whole host of administrative experts, teacher assistants, day care, custodians, cafeteria workers, transportation and who knows what the hell else, we can't find the time to teach something so basic as handwriting?

You've got to be kidding!