Do you spend the time to use a pen, or pencil, and paper to write? How does it make you feel? Did you know that your brain shifts from how you write when typing or texting to using a pen and paper. It forces you to slow down and really think about what you write. There is no easy back button when using pen and paper.

Today is National Handwriting Day, for a full history of the day check out the National Day Calender site, but here is a very brief bit of info. The holiday was established in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers, they wanted to increase the use consumption of writing supplies and they chose the date of January 23rd because it is the birthday of John Hancock. I think this was a really cool reason to choose that day.

In our house we joke that if we write in cursive it could be as if we were writing in code, a secret language no child could read…we joke about it, but only because we have to laugh about it, we all feel it is something that still needs to be taught in schools and needs to be added back into the curriculum. My 9 year old step son is in 4th grade, and he tries to write in cursive, he thinks it looks cool, and we really do need to teach him.

There are a number of arguments for and against teaching cursive. Some of the arguments are as follows:

Did you know that of the two types of handwriting, print and cursive, cursive is the form of handwriting that uses multiple parts of your brain, and cursive helps you retain more information, because if we read or write in cursive it helps us learn and “the act of writing words in a continuous fashion… promoted an understanding of complete words better than separate letters. Humans, after all, think structurally, not phonetically.” (Paper and Packaging)

Do you remember taking notes in school? When studying didn’t you find it easier to refresh your memory when reviewing those notes?

There is also the argument also from Paper and packaging “cursive handwriting is a fine motor skill that allows for plenty of practice”  writing by hand and in cursive is a dying art. When I look back through things Ive kept, a lot of mementos are letters, as well as my old journals which are in part scrapbooks from trips, all of which I had to take the time to write and by doing that I have the ability to revisit those experiences.

And another article about cursive writing I found says “Putting pen to paper stimulates the brain like nothing else.. stimulates synapses and synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres, something absent from printing and typing.” to read the full article click here . How shocking is that, in a day and age where comminication is so easy, there is a lack of connection and that tangable feeling of holding something, like a letter that someone spent time to sit a write, is so rare. “We need to teach cursive to school children to preserve this history. E-mail messages are routinely deleted and not saved for posterity. Letters written in cursive tend to be saved and cherished. And let’s be honest, receiving a letter written in cursive is much more meaningful than one that is computer-generated.” says Jimmy Bryant in his article

Cursive writing is a long-held cultural tradition in this country and should continue to be taught; not just for the sake of tradition, but also to preserve the history of our nation.

There is also the argument that cursive writing is no longer needed that it is archaic as argued here “Given these realities, teachers would be better off focusing on the skills and knowledge that will impact student success in the future. These include printing and typing, but not cursive. As we have done with the abacus and the slide rule, it is time to retire the teaching of cursive. The writing is on the wall.”

I would love to know your thoughts dear reader, is cursive writing important and should it be taught in schools again?