Why Teach Cursive Writing?

Why do kids need to learn Manuscript (cursive?) today? What I mean is….we don’t write much by hand anymore, isn’t printing enough?

It is true, with the advent of the computer, we don’t write by hand very much and the value of skills such as cursive writing can become obscured.

However, handwriting requires discipline and coordination. It is more than putting symbols on paper. It develops fine motor skills in the fingers and the hand, and eye-hand coordination.

It takes less eye-hand coordination to print than it does to connect the letters in cursive writing. That eye-hand coordination can then be applied to other skills.

Cursive writing can help develop processing skills. The child has to think about what he wants to say and then write it legibly and coherently on the paper.

The “To the Parent” section of the Handwriting books says this about “why” cursive is taught at Seton.

“ …there are still many situations in life when handwriting is necessary and appropriate. Good, legible penmanship conveys the writer’s personal consideration and respect for the reader.”

Can’t this consideration and respect for the reader be conveyed to the reader through printing and keyboarding or typing?

Maybe, but the personal touch is likely to be missing. How important is that personal touch? Let’s consider telephone conversations.

No one likes to be called by, or to speak to a machine on the telephone. Why not? The same information is imparted, but the experience is vastly different.

It’s impersonal and on some level lacking in consideration and respect. (Don’t I rate speaking to a real person?).

One of our elementary counselors had this to say:

It was also said that it is easier to reverse the formation of manuscript letters than it is cursive letters. For individuals with dyslexia, they learn to recognize manuscript letters, but they learn to write in cursive.

Also, once a person gets the form of cursive letters, they are supposed to be able to write quicker than if they were printing in manuscript. Most students in college are probably listening to lectures and typing their notes into a computer. But what if you don’t have a computer and how are college students taking tests?

One instance where cursive is used is a person’s signature. Not only do we need to know how to write our own names, but we need to be able to read what someone else writes. Perhaps, in the future, cursive will be eliminated and we will have a fingerprint code that will produce our names, but for now, cursive is still a part of our culture.”

Header Image CC Kendall Lister