Isms: Views on life in rural America

Several items I cherish most in life are found in a recipe box atop the refrigerator. The other, tucked away in my office in the file cabinet.

The items have two common threads. They are handwritten in cursive by Grandma Larson and my parents. Dad’s and Grandma’s pieces have similar attributes: precise penmanship, straight strokes, perfect loops. Mom’s handwriting is a bit more fanciful, letters strung together with sweeping lines, curlicues highlighting each capital letter.

If I ask any of my grandchildren to read these examples, they can’t. In an age where curriculum is crowded with providing facts and statistics that “teach to the test” and learning takes place on smart boards, tablets and laptops, most young students are unable to decipher cursive handwriting.

So, if educational systems don’t believe cursive is necessary because students have keyboards, then science shouldn’t need to be taught since there are microscopes and beakers and test tubes. And math? Who needs it. That’s why calculators were invented. No need to teach art, because artificial intelligence can create something.

It’s to the point where students do not need to fine-tune any skills because, hey, technology has it covered.

Or does it?

Currently, 21 states mandate cursive to be taught. Rightfully so, since the body of research shows its importance. Handwriting, it seems is good for a person’s brain. There’s a definite connection between writing and reading.

According to a University of Washington study, which followed a group of students from kindergarten through seventh grade, children who knew how to write cursive could spell better, write more and write faster than when they printed.

Writing in cursive mirrors reading comprehension. In writing, strokes of each letter are connected to the next letter, forming a word. Reading comprehension takes a cluster of letters and turns into a word that has a meaning.

Writing enhances fine motor skills. It’s the same type of muscle memory used for buttoning a shirt or using scissors.

Writing primes the brain for learning. Studies show that writing in cursive engages more of the brain than printing does. Students who write in cursive are able to process and remember information in all areas and language development is enhanced..

Truth be told, there’s not a body of research that showcases the benefits of keyboard-only learning. Learning 0s and 1s (basic binary code) doesn’t compare to the hands-on advantage of learning cursive.

I’m not advocating to ditch the keyboard. I am advocating for teaching cursive writing. There are times when both can be beneficial. And, I am advocating for preparing today’s youth with skills they can use without the aid of technology. Write on.