So Much For Penmanship, School Replaces Cursive With Keyboarding

by Amy Hatch (Subscribe to Amy Hatch's posts) Aug 31st 2009 3:11PM

Categories: Kids 8-11, Playground Bureau, Education

Text Size:

Should handwriting be taught in school? Credit: Jupiterimages

In another knockout to the handwritten note, keyboarding lessons are replacing time spent learning cursive in the Brownsburg, Ind. school district.

Parents of third-graders in that district recently received a letter stating that lesson time previously spent on teaching cursive handwriting will now be used to teach keyboarding instead, according to a story in The Indianapolis Star.

"It is clear to us that cursive is becoming more obsolete," Donna Petraits, the district's director of communications, told The Indianapolis Star. "We are hearing equal amounts of praise and criticism on this decision, which we fully expected."

A 2007 nationwide survey by Vanderbilt University showed that cursive is still being widely taught in public and private elementary schools, according to a story earlier this year in USA Today. Researchers surveyed a random sample of about 200 teachers in grades 1-3 in all 50 states.

Of the teachers surveyed, 90 percent said that their schools required handwriting instruction. The study also revealed that half of second-grade teachers and 90 percent of third-grade teachers spent time teaching cursive.

The Brownsburg school district, located in suburban Indianapolis, will not totally eliminate penmanship from the curriculum. Third-graders will be taught to read and write their own names in cursive.

Is cursive handwriting obsolete?

Source

Comments (46)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

veri 8-31-2009 @ 11:22PM

since much of what is read comes in print --[script] cursive seems to be out of date -- i think they shoud learn cursive to write their names,though

ninainindia 9-01-2009 @ 7:26AM

I can't remember the last time I used cursive so it does seem like the time could be used for better things.

gayle 9-02-2009 @ 9:28PM

however, penmanship is an important part in developing the fine motor skills in a child's hand. Even if they wont be using cursive regularly, the benefits extend beyond the handwriting.

Anne 9-03-2009 @ 1:59AM

When was the last time you filled out a job application? I'll bet you didn't think it was important then that you knew how to write.

Karen 9-01-2009 @ 7:37AM

They should teach cursive to START with. Their little hands and minds are better suited to the curves and loops of cursive than print. Then they should teach printing in 2nd grade where they pick it up immediately and it takes little practice.

And by third grade they should be heavily into keyboarding. 3rd grade is the time when research shows they are adepts and have the other skills necessary for keyboarding anyway.

We have to think of WHY penmanship was important. Writing conveys thought. If you can't read it, then it doesn't matter. But the majority of writing is now done on a keyboard.

I have absolutely NO problem with this and in fact I am pushing my school to start keyboarding earlier. By the time kids are in 4th or 5th grade they have taught themselves an improper way to use keyboards (usually using only 3 fingers on each hand) and it is next to impossible to RETRAIN them.

The key here is that kids need to be WRITING more. And writing on a keyboard is fine with me.

Lauren 9-01-2009 @ 11:28AM

You can have good penmanship without using cursive. No one uses it anymore, so who cares.?

dhalley1 9-02-2009 @ 8:43PM

Writing is one of the most basic forms of communication and it is a tragedy that these children will not be shown the correct way to write. Particularly in the sciences - not everything is done by computer and we see some of the worst penmenship.... I am all for early training in keyboarding but let's not lose the basics.

Honest John 9-01-2009 @ 5:27PM

Describing CURSE-ive (they called it "script" when I was in school):

1. A waste of time for me, slower than printing
2. Makes my hands tired
3. Practically unreadable, given that most people are used to printing, like me (the infamous "doctors' handwriting" that *killed* people who took the wrong doses of medicines)
4. Kids these days can barely read or write well in print, why teach them two ways to do the same thing, when only one is really important these days, and the other is a mess?

Joy 9-02-2009 @ 12:32PM

I have this same subject on my blog today and I can't believe the comments I just read. Cursive isn't important? You have to be kidding me! Teaching children to just write their name? What good is that if they can't read anyone else's? What about great grandmothers/father's letters that have been carefully set aside for future generations? What about old diaries and birthday cards and letters you've maybe written for your children/grandchildren so they can know what your life was like way back in the day? Wasn't the Declaration of Independence written in cursive?

Maybe for "future" things only, this is the way to go but what will they be missing out on as far as "past" lives go? It does NO good to only know how to read and write your own name if you can't read what someone writes to you. Oh, you'll be able to endorse a check but not be able to read what you're endorsing???

This is indeed very sad to me. There is plenty of time for keyboarding. If children aren't taught this at the age their brains are like sponges and drink it all in, they will never learn it and the dreams, hopes and struggles or our ancestors will all be lost.

Marilyn 9-04-2009 @ 12:23PM

Brovo to you!!! Do people think that everything started the day they were born and nothing in the past means anything?? They could tell you what ever they wanted to about he Declaration of Independence, or the Bill of Rights if you couldn't read it for yourself! Also your point about old letters and such is so true.

Rick 9-02-2009 @ 5:03PM

if I could change the font here, I could use cursive here. then what would keyboarding do? what if grandma decided to send a letter in cursive? come on, computers are great but really teaching typing? I learned it in 8th grade as a elective, what is more important? computers are no good without electric, but I can write in the dark.

ken 9-03-2009 @ 5:33AM

Well said

Jaywannak 9-02-2009 @ 6:07PM

I use cursive just about everyday and I type very well. I'm more adept at writing script and it's expected of me in school. I find it almost despicable to say it's not necessary. That's what's wrong with American education. We give up because it's easier. Both are important. I learned cursive in 3rd grade and to type 7th-8th grade. And now in high school I type all of my reports with the occasional need to handwrite. It definitely pays to have great penmanship because it says a lot about a person. Why can't we have both!?

Fran Raab 9-03-2009 @ 10:28PM

I LEARNED CURSIVE IN A CATHOLIC GRADE SCHOOL...DON'T REMEMBER THE GRADE AND TYPING IN A CATHOLIC HS. MY PROTESTANT HUSBAND USED TO KID THAT ALL I LEARNED IN THESE SETTINGS WAS 'RELIGION' AND 'PENMANSHIP'. I DO NOT BELIEVE CURSIVE IS THAT DIFFICULT. MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEAUTIFUL CURSIVE HANDWRITING, INCL. WHOEVER PUT IT IN OUR COUNTRY'S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, NOT TO MENTION THE MONKS OF EUROPE...AMONG OTHER ARTISTIC FOLKS.

Joe Papierz Jr 9-02-2009 @ 8:11PM

Don't tell me that when someone gives you their name and phone number you drag them over to your computer to enter the info into your data bank. Cursive is still usefull to make up shopping lists, take notes, and etc.

Elizabeth Jetter 9-02-2009 @ 8:28PM

I think they should be taught concurrrently. You can tell a lot from a person's handwriting and I have decided not to be close to people for whom their handwriting is unreadable. I wonder what they are hiding? I see adult people writing like children in grade school. For that matter, children in grade school may have better handwriting. Why would I want to be close to someone who needs adult supervision or someone to take care of them? But, like someone said above and is evident in two of my children, they only use 3 fingers on each hand to type. Unlike myself, at 77, who can type 100 words per minute, they are much slower BUT faster than I would have thought they could do. Another BUT. They have to keep looking at the keyboard which I do not have to do. So, the sooner the better for typing.

My father had a beautiful, cursive handwriting style that I admired and emulated but that I usually haven't seen even in my generation and rarely see in men of any generation. My children admired my handwriting and I think that helped all 5 of them to develop beautiful handwriting too. With my oldest grandchild, whose math homework I oversaw one day, I had to remind him that neatness counts. I couldn't even understand the NUMBERS he wrote. Is that a 4 or a 9? Is that a 3 or a 5 or a 2? Duh!

SP 9-02-2009 @ 8:26PM

An illiterate generation has now become the teacher.

AMY 9-02-2009 @ 8:49PM

ONE PHRASE STUPID IN AMERICA. THIS IS WHATS WRONG WITH THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE GOOD OLE USA TAKING AWAY VERY IMPORTANT SUBJECTS THAT NEED TO BE TAUGHT. STUPID IN AMERICA

Laurel 9-02-2009 @ 9:09PM

How stupid can you be? Getting rid of cursive for keyboarding because its easier. That is what is wrong with society today everyone is looking for the easy way in everything. The school district in the town I live in recently went to full day Kindergarten so the kids could learn how to use scissors and do art projects. My mom's kindergarten classes always ended the year being able to read, write, add, subract, count and write numbers to 100, color, and use scissors and a school day was only 3 hrs 35 min. Cursive while tedious to learn is necessary. A love letter means more in cursive or at least it looks better. By the time I was 4, I could type, read both cursive and print, write in print and was dabbling in cursive. None of these things were taught to me but I was exposed to writing in various forms everyday, from reading the funny pages in the paper to watching my mom make up the grocery list. Teach script, cursive whatever you want to call it, its important. BTW I now use an amalgam of script and print when I write.