I recently came across a debate titled “ Should schools require children to learn cursive?”. There were obviously two sides to the article but the positive side, regarding teaching cursive, interested me most. Suzanne Baruch Asherson highlighted key points that I never knew about. For example, she mentioned the benefits of learning cursive, which include better participation and comprehension. This is because writing in cursive “stimulates brain synapses and synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres, something absent from printing and typing”. Therefore, cursive writing has proven to help students more when testing. For example, The College Board discovered that in the written part of the SAT those who wrote in cursive scored higher than those who wrote in print. This concludes that cursive brings many benefits than the usual writing taught. Additionally, Suzanne Baruch Asherson assures that cursive writing allows students to master standards outside requirements such as the common core standards. What is your opinion on this? Do you believe school should teach students cursive? If so, do you believe it is better for it to be taught at a younger or an older age?
In my opinion, I believe it should be taught at school but if it is not then it can be taught at home. I also believe that there are both positives and negatives when teaching cursive at a young age. Young children may get stressed because they already have to learn the print form. However, if it were taught at a young age it would be something that they become adapted to, in contrast to it being taught when older. It is possible however, that since we have a better memory, than children, we can learn it quickly. Do you think it will benefit us the same, when learned at any age? What is your opinion on having cursive taught?
Cursive itself was something that I learned for one or two years in elementary school. Unfortunately, it hasn't stuck with me since then. To answer the question, yes, students should learn cursive in school. The benefits that was listed in your post revealed the positive impact writing in cursive has. If for some reason it cannot be taught in a certain school district, than an online course could substitute that. It doesn't matter the age, if a teenager such as myself wants to relearn cursive, that's fine. Adults can also relearn it if they choose to. At the end of the day, it is something optional that has benefits that I could not have imagined, and it should be taught in schools.
ReplyDeleteI personally, have always enjoyed writing in cursive, and grateful for the fact that I was taught how to. I agree that children should be taught how to write in cursive and should be taught from a young age, because of the many benefits that come with the skill and just because I have always enjoyed the different style of writing. At a younger age, children can gasp language more easily, such as how it is easier to learn another language as a child rather than learning it as an adolescent or adult. I also support the idea that children should be taught cursive at home, because you actually need it to develop a signature that will be constantly used later in life.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, cursive writing shouldn't be required by districts to be taught in schools. There's plenty of activities online like YouTube courses or Google that can easily teach students (or adults) to write in cursive. It's up to the individual themselves to make the decision whether or not learning cursive is best for them. If they do get implemented into class more often, they should take the time to recognize its benefits through practicing it through small activities during middle school. At that age, students are capable to decide whether they want incorporate in their essays, etc. However, I think it'd be useful to write their signature in the future, which can be taught by their parents or as previously suggested, google.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think learning cursive is not a school requirement it's something you learn for fun. If teachers do decide to teach their students how to write in cursive then it should be at a young age such as 3rd or 4th grade. If not then students could learn on Google and watch some youtube videos or an adult could help. Learning cursive is a good way for younger students and adults to learn different fonts and be more creative with their handwriting. Thinking about it I didn't know there was much benefits for cursive writing besides writing signatures.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, cursive should be be taught in schools, but only the basics. Since cursive at school just makes writing more complicated for third graders and since these kids usually do not realize the little span of benefits, an extensive knowledge of cursive does not need to be taught. In my life, I have only used cursive to sign forms and read my grandma's handwriting on birthday cards. So, yes, the basics of cursive should be learned for signatures and reading, but further than that, these kids can just learn the rest on their own.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think children should learn to write in cursive at a young age. I think it would be more effective for them to learn it in school as they would any other subject. Learning cursive at a young age is like learning a new language at a young age, which is easier to grasp, rather than later in life. As anything in life, learning a new skill is beneficial. As Jennifer stated, cursive can help children comprehend and participate in school.
ReplyDeleteI was always neater at cursive then my print handwriting. To answer the question, yes students should be taught cursive. It gives them something new to try and add to their work. Sometimes, I even catch myself writing in cursive because it just looks more professional then print. Others argue that its faster then print because the motion is very fluid. Sadly they took it out of the curriculum but it still should be something kids learn.
ReplyDeleteI also think that cursive should be taught at schools and also at a young age. I was taught cursive in third grade, and although it was tricky at the time, I'm glad I learned it. I not only have the option of different writing now, but I can also use it in the future for signatures like Celeste had mentioned. It amazes me how schools are changing out things that can benefit students like cursive, while adding in complicated things like Common Core.
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