Cursive in Texas Schools: Last week, Texas became one of “fourteen states, to have passed new standards making cursive mandatory.” Cursive: Why is it Returning to Texas Schools? Back in 2017, I first published a post that contained a significant amount of research and science supporting the benefits of cursive being taught in schools and of writing in cursive. 10 Reasons Why Cursive Handwriting Remains Relevant!
The following post contains shortened bullet points of the cited scientific facts and research-supported facts published originally in my first post supporting and explaining the reasons why cursive is being brought back and mandated in Texas schools as well as other schools in the United States and worldwide. This post contains some affiliate links.
I published that post, 10 Reasons Why Cursive Handwriting Remains Relevant, for several reasons:
1) My own son was learning cursive in school, 2nd grade, and I was trying to support the cursive camp at that school, and the reasons why it should be taught more broadly in Texas schools.
2) Most articles about cursive lacked a research-supported solid argument for the reasons why cursive should be taught in the 21st century, undergirded by cited scientific facts and accessible documentation.
The Science and Research Behind It: Cognitive Development: Print vs Cursive:
- Writing in “cursive stimulates brain synapses and synchronicity between the hemispheres, something absent from printing, typing or keyboarding.” Dr. David Sortino
- Maria Konnikova examples of people with brain injuries that lose the ability to write, read or understand print can still comprehend cursive!
- PBS Newshour published a report about how cursive helps all students with deeper and more critical thinking, memory, reading and more. “There is a stronger association for learning and memory.”
- Higher SAT scores
- Dr. Klemn, his research shows how cursive helps with memory,
“the pen is mightier than the keyboard.” - Another published article by Dr. Klemn about how cursive can make you smarter, help you to write faster, and why that is important.
- New York Times, print vs cursive “activates separate brain networks and engages in more cognitive resources.”
- Cursive writing trains the brain to develop functional specialization with optimal efficiency, in a fullness that print does not.
Like this photo, we have Virtual Reality Headsets and cell phones but the woman is still creating art with her hands, fingers, and a paintbrush. “With every form of art overridden by technology, we are slowly squelching every creative aspect from the lives of our children. Limiting your child’s ability to read and write cursive is not building self-dependency but a drive-less dependency on technology.” WiseMommies Photo by Billetto Editorial on Unsplash
- A study published in Journal Science, writing lessened test anxiety while boosting test performance by nearly one grade point by simply writing.
- Science magazine, published a Johns Hopkins study that showed how cursive handwriting lessons affected the brain.
- Another published article by Dr. Klemn about how cursive can make you smarter, help you to write faster, and why that is important.
- New York Times, print vs cursive “activates separate brain networks and engages in more cognitive resources.”
- Cursive writing trains the brain to develop functional specialization with optimal efficiency, in a fullness that print does not.
- In the journal Child Development, handwriting skills “supports executive function by engaging a child’s attention and developing her ability to focus.”
- This study shows some interesting long-term results from “different brain regions” being used in print vs cursive.
- “What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades?”
“Printing, cursive writing, and typing on a keyboard all use distinct and separate brain patterns, each result with a different end product.”a published study by Psychologist, Virginia Berninger,
Laptop vs Longhand: Cursive handwriting in the 21st century; why on Earth is it necessary in a world of print?
- Article published in Scientific American, “A Learning Secret: Don’t Take Notes with a Laptop.”
- Some well-known writers such as Jackie Collins, JK Rowling, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, John Steinbeck, Vladimir Nabokov, Nail Gaiman, and Quentin Tarantino have talked about a cursive connection to creativity and believe their creativity only came out when writing in pencil. Especially as a writer and influencer, I’m constantly in need of quickly writing.
- Dr. Nancy Darling: “Step Away From The Keyboard: How Our Hands Affect Our Brains.“
- McKay article about the Palmer Method and how cursive helps: “whole hand movement” as it “combats the fatigue and hand cramping that comes with finger-only writing” or laptop typing.
- Read more, The future is the keyboard, cursive is an ancient skill? Or?
Weekly our family gathers together to read & write in our Commonplace Books.
Some Books Addressing Benefits from Cursive Psychologically and other:
- Future Wise, addresses’ advantages psychologically.
- American Cursive Handwriting.
- My 3rd grader is really into jokes right now. I bought this book for him, Cursive Handwriting Workbook for Kids: Jokes & Riddles.
It’s a great way to learn some new jokes while practicing cursive writing fluency with complete sentences.
Great Homeschool Conventions
I also bought the book, CursiveLogic Poems, Rhymes, and Songs: Bridge to Level 2, at the Great Homeschool Conventions, in Texas, from Janice Campbell. Her website is full of literature, writing ideas and so much more. I heard her speak at the Homeschool Convention and walked away with so much food for thought all via handwritten notetaking, of course!!!
Cursive in Texas Schools now Mandatory:
In 2017, the Texas State Board of Education changed the requirements for the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, TEKS. TEKS is the English Language Arts and Reading portion for the education standards set for Texas. To quote exactly what the TEKS says, starting this fall 2019,
§110.4. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 2, Adopted 2017.
“The student is expected to: develop handwriting by accurately forming all cursive letters using appropriate strokes when connecting letters.”
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia use the Common Core’s English Language Arts standards which don’t require cursive to be taught in public schools. “Fourteen states, including Texas, have all passed new standards to make cursive mandatory. “
Cursive: Why is it Returning to Texas Schools?
For all the research-supported solid arguments listed above in this post along with the cited scientific facts, how can one still have a reason as to why cursive should not be taught in the classroom? I’m happy that my state of Texas realizes the need and benefit of bringing cursive back!
Navneet Alang on Hazlitt
