Second grader Evi Thompson’s favorite letter is “S.”
“I like how my pencil feels on the paper when I write it,” Evi said from her classroom at Mary Queen of Apostles in New Kensington. “It’s very loopy.”
Evi and her classmates are learning the art of cursive writing, the old-school style of writing defined by flair and flourishes that are absent in block printing.
It requires a certain patience, if not talent, to get the fancy letters spaced just so.
Cursive used to be a mainstay of academics until, relatively recently, it was dropped from many public schools’ curriculums in favor of technology that favors printed writing.
Some say it was the shift to Common Core standards in 2010, which target keyboard skills for elementary students and put an emphasis on English and math to align instruction across the country. Common Core forgoes cursive and instead says that, by first grade, children should be able to print the alphabet. By fourth grade, they should be able to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
With the advent of electronic banking and even electronic legal documents in recent years, the need for cursive writing waned even more. In fact, according to most law and bank websites, cursive is not required to sign or endorse a check or for printed legal documents and contracts. Instead, printed signatures are just as legally binding as long as they are legible.
But recently, there’s been a push to bring back cursive.
Legislative push
State Rep. Joe Adams, R-Wayne/Pike, introduced a bill that would require cursive to be taught in Pennsylvania’s public schools.
Adams said he believes handwriting is not only fundamental but also necessary.
“When students are no longer taught how to read and write in cursive, they find themselves unprepared to learn from our history or be engaged in conducting business,” he said.
The House returns to session in mid-March, when it could take up the bill.
Some level of cursive instruction is mandated in 21 states, about 40% of the nation, according to mycursive.com, which tracks handwriting requirements.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state teachers union, hasn’t taken a formal position on the legislation, according to Chris Lilienthal, assistant director of communications.
According to The Atlantic, many Gen Zers haven’t a clue how to write or even read cursive — for many, cursive looks like a jumbled line of scribbles.
That means many young people can’t read historical papers like the U.S. Constitution.
In the age of identity theft, it also could mean their signatures are easier to forge.
The more complex a signature, the harder it is to forge, according to Handwriting University International’s website. That means cursive, with its complex strokes and crossed lines, is harder to fake and easier for a document examiner to spot if forged.
Cursive benefits
Research shows that cursive not only improves retention and comprehension, but it also engages the brain on a deep level, as students learn to join letters in a continuous flow, according to the National Education Association.
Morgan Dougherty, an occupational therapist with Allegheny Health Network, said cursive enhances fine-motor dexterity and can improve brain function.
“It stimulates both hemispheres of the brain and helps with memory and language,” said Dougherty, of McKeesport.
She works with patients at Jefferson Hospital and said cursive generates benefits not found in printing or typing.
“It helps with focus because you have to concentrate,” she said. “It can also help with dyslexia because when you’re doing cursive, your hand is down with the same amount of force the whole time. You are concentrating on the curvature and flow, and it helps the brain not to mix letters or get lost directionally because you’re not picking up the pencil midway.”
Also, Dougherty said, it’s easier to learn to print when you already are skilled in cursive.
“It’s harder the other way around,” she said.
Practice makes perfect
Anyone of a certain age likely recalls the lined notebook paper used in elementary school to practice the swirls of cursive.
“I was so excited to learn how to write in cursive in elementary school,” said Jayme Rost, a second-grade teacher at West Point Elementary in Greensburg. “To me, it was the epitome of being grown up.
“While cursive isn’t as prevalent today as it once was, things are still written in cursive, and students need to be able to write their signature — an important life skill.”
At Burrell School District, students learn handwriting at the elementary level.
They learn to print in kindergarten and practice basic cursive in years following, but staff doesn’t spend an extensive amount of time teaching it in isolation, said Autumn Turk, director of curriculum and development.
“As a district, we are in the process of learning more about the science of reading and how we can best help our students become skilled readers, writers, thinkers and learners,” Turk said. “We have learned about how important it is for a child’s brain to be activated through instruction and practice that integrates listening, reading, speaking and writing.”
According to the website readingrockets.org, cursive handwriting in the early grades is linked to basic reading and spelling achievement. Even a modest amount of daily instruction can prevent later writing challenges, the organization says.
Rost, a teacher in Hempfield Area School District for 21 years, said her second graders get just as excited as she did to learn cursive.
“They, too, feel like a big kid. And, as their teacher, I take that excitement and run with it,” Rost said.
Cursive writing is introduced in second grade about halfway through the school year and reinforced in higher grades. Rost uses a chapter book, “Muggie Maggie,” to introduce the skill.
It’s about a girl who refuses to write in cursive and, as a result, finds that she can’t read it, either.
“Sadly, cursive isn’t the preferred style of writing as it once was. That is why I enjoy having the opportunity to teach it to my students,” Rost said.
Important skill
At Mary Queen of Apostles, cursive is a rite of passage, according to Vice Principal Brandi Figueroa.
“We’re progressive. We teach STEM and have whiteboards, but we still do the old-school things,” she said.
And they take time to teach cursive properly, Figueroa said.
“They learn the strokes, and they practice. We buy the lined paper so they can learn to space the letters.”
Leaders at the private school believe there are practical applications that would be sacrificed if students never learned cursive.
Principal Cathy Collett said she finds it necessary for future success.
“There’s a fluidity to it,” Collett said. “Once you know it, it’s easier to pick anything up and read it. If you can’t read it, some things look like gibberish.”
Second graders Ariah Farabaugh and Justin Plunkett are embracing the challenge.
“Some letters are hard to know how to join the next one,” said Justin, 7.
“You have to take your time,” said Ariah, 8. “But it’s really peaceful.”
Tawnya Panizzi is a TribLive reporter. She joined the Trib in 1997. She can be reached at tpanizzi@triblive.com.
