Can it be true? Has cursive handwriting become a lost art? Say it's not so - but the Detroit News says it is:
Cursive writing, once a cornerstone of American education, is becoming a cultural artifact in Metro Detroit, as computers and the demands of standardized tests squeeze it out of its once lofty position.
Taught for more than 300 years in the U.S., cursive writing has a storied past. But in schools across southeast Michigan, fancy writing has been reduced to an independent study, an "as-we-have-time" course in second or third grade. Papers written in cursive may be required in later grades, but with legibility spotty, computer printouts often are accepted instead.
For traditionalists, the demise of cursive is an outrage -- the loss of a skill, even an art form. People who print argue there's no point in wasting students' time to teach a vestigial skill in a computer age. For the educators in the middle, pragmatism usually wins.
"Vestigial?" Granted, the fact that I am an amateur calligrapher means that I have biases about this topic, but I find it hard to believe that in even in a day as computerized as ours, it's not necessary to teach kids to write beautifully - and legibly. Of course, plenty of adults do just fine with chicken-scratch handwriting - but something about calling cursive "vestigial" nags at me.
I'm not surprised that, when asked, kids would rather learn computer skills than cursive writing, and, in terms of usefulness and practicality these days, I admit computer skills win out over pretty writing. But I believe that the parents in this article who claim that learning to write cursive promotes disclipline have a point, and certainly learning to write legibly is not ever going to be completely unnecessary.
I may have nothing with which to defend the teaching of cursive writing other than tradition, but defend it I will.
Peterson bristles a little at the notion that writing needs to be graded by neatness, and cursive-written papers should be required in higher grades.
"It's not my philosophy. To me, it's the content that counts, but it does have to be legible."
But legibility depends on the beholder. By the time most kids reach high school, most have already developed their own version of printing/cursive/ secret code. And for some, unless schools can find hours to devote to handwriting practice, no single method will improve writing.
I'd actually forgotten about this little SAT tidbit:
The SAT college admissions test still requires students to copy a few paragraphs in cursive at the end of the test, most of which say the student didn't cheat and went by the rules, said Sandra Riley, spokeswoman for the College Board which gives the test.
Students are asked to write out the paragraphs, rather than just sign a written statement, so the College Board has a copy of the students handwriting in case later verification of the student's identity is needed, she said.
Think about it. If schools teach kids to type, and never to write well, then handwriting as identity verification could go the way of the horseless carriage. And all those forensic graphologists who so fascinate me when they appear on Court TV will be out of a job (and this program will go under).
Posted by kswygert at October 16, 2003 03:46 PM