Should New York Schools Bring Back Teaching Cursive Writing?

Remember when you learned to write in cursive? Or was it no longer required learning when you were in school? It was for me. I had no problem mastering writing in cursive, but my penmanship was less than excellent. Way less than excellent to be honest.

Other than signing my name, which looks atrocious, I'm not sure if I can remember how to write a complete paragraph in cursive. It's been a long time. The reason I bring up the subject of cursive writing is due to an article I ran across recently.

The Missouri Independent website published an article that some states around the country are mandating cursive writing in schools. The article notes over 20 states have implemented directives to teach cursive, and some states don’t require cursive, instead encourage it without specific mandates.

New York State and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are not in that group. The My Cursive website details the states that do and do not require cursive to be taught in schools.

Educators around the country argue for and against mandatory teaching of cursive in schools. The Missouri Independent quotes Morgan Polikoff, an associate professor of education at the University of Southern California as saying there’s “not much evidence that cursive matters. If you are going to spend time on some indication of written communication, keyboarding skills are more important."

Personally, I'm not sure which way makes more sense, so I posed the question to my readers - Should New York State and/or Pennsylvania bring back cursive teaching in our schools?

Here are some of the responses I received:

Deborah W. - Yes. Everyone should be able to read and write in cursive. All of our historical documents are in cursive.

Penny S. - As much as I love to write in cursive, it's not really all that important in today's day and age. There are So many other things that children need to learn in order to survive in this world.

Brian R. - Bring it on! Bring back wood shop, metal shop, etc! The basics!

Lonnie Z. - Yes, NYS should! Kids need to learn, not be indoctrinated.

Keith H. - The most important documents in our nation's history are written in cursive. Teach it...learn it.

Adam S. -  Yes. I couldn’t read my boss’s notes when she wrote them because she wrote in traditional cursive rather than the slop that most people do these days. I’m 23 and never learned cursive. I self-taught myself but I’m not the best at it. I also cannot sign my name. I’d like my children to know cursive because it’s actually more useful than most think.

Michele O. - Teachers are inundated with teaching all of the state standards in PA. Teachers are not against teaching cursive and many in fact want to however, there is only so much time in a day. If you want change in education really take a look at the state standards and then talk to your state representatives who are legislating the standards.

Charles W. - The curriculum has been dumbed down too much already. Require cursive writing instruction!

Donna B. - Yes! They definitely should be taught cursive. My granddaughter couldn't even read the note I put on her birthday card. Plus they're not taught how to tell time on a regular clock. I told her I'd pick her up at quarter after two and she didn't know what I meant. Had to explain it to her. So sad.

Justyne J. - No. Signatures do not legally have to be in cursive. I was taught cursive and only use it for my signature but that doesn't mean you have to. Also, knowing cursive doesn't mean you can read it. I have a hard time reading my husband's handwriting! So many other important things schools could be teaching.

Alana H. - I was taught cursive in 3rd grade at the Windsor Central School District back in the 90s. My children have or will be learning it in PA.

Rob D. - Absolutely not. Focus on teaching proper grammar and punctuation along with proper writing skills. Technology has eliminated the need to learn cursive.