I was surprised to learn that cursive handwriting is not part of the Iowa Core Curriculum. Students in grade school today do not have to learn how to write "long hand" - they need to know how to print upper and lower case letters, but cursive writing is optional.
I think of the hours and hours that we spent with the specially ruled paper, practicing that we had the upper loops high enough (but not too high), the capital "I" shaped like a little boat and so on. We crafted our signatures and developed a penmanship style that was our own. I fear that long hand will be a lost art.
I'm sure it is no surprise that in place of cursive, students begin computer instruction in kindergarten and by third grade they use word processing software for much of their work. I didn't even have a typing class until junior year in high school.
Before long, cursive will be akin to calligraphy, used only for special events and formal invitations. Recognize that it gives you an opportunity to really stand out among all the digitized mail to send handwritten notes or to address an envelope in cursive. I wonder if today's children will even be able to read it!
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
source: TH, April 29, 2013
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