After that, there was a conversation in our ELA department where I learned that, apparently, some elementary schools have discontinued teaching cursive. I was shocked. The natural response to writing lettings is curved and connected. The act of writing straight lines and spacing is something that is "taught," so I always thought cursive was a valuable skill to hang onto. In retrospect, I know that I neither require nor prevent my own students from writing in cursive, because so much of the final product is typed anyways.Just curious. Doses your school teach both cursive and keyboard or did keyboard skills replace cursive? What is the impact as kids get older?
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-17/the-case- against-cursive.html
Is cursive obsolete?
Is the act of writing, handwriting, and any other form of the written word on it's way out?
What did happen to keyboarding? When do kids learn that?
Furthermore, the new PARCC tests are ALL online, even the "writing" - not that we teach to the test, but if we are preparing students for it, how do we continue to make writing (cursive or otherwise) relevant?
Love the question. I often am asked what I think about teaching keyboarding.. hence the conversation also becomes connected with cursive writing. Jen Chavers put some comments in her post about penmanship.. Would be curious where your conversation would go if you two talk this Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that sometimes when I write in cursive on the board or on students' papers they can't read what I've written. I don't know why cursive is important to keep, but I still feel like it is. Maybe I'm just hanging on to the past. I also wonder when kids learn keyboarding. I have many students who just hunt and peck and I'm wondering if we just assume that they will learn it on their own somehow.
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting conversation to have. With handwriting being nowhere in our standards, what are we really wanting to teach, what matters most to our students? Personally, I think we have moved too far away from a handwriting focus. Not everyone is going to be a doctor where sloppy script is almost expected. I tell my students it has to be neat and legible, but do I really have a way of working on this with them in 4th grade. Many of them have great print, but how do I support my students who don't? I don't know if cursive is the way to go for many of my students because it can be so labor intensive for some, which can take away from their time to generate ideas. Maybe you are right that keyboarding instruction might be a good replacement for cursive at an elementary level if it will be a part of their standardized testing. Who know, it is obviously a loaded topic on many fronts!
Penny
I have always likened cursive to art and standard soft skills that every student should possess. I have 8th grade students whose typing vastly contrasts from their handwriting in neatness, spelling, grammar, and ideas. While much of the writing students will do in the future may be on computers, simply dismissing handwriting and cursive seems narrow-minded. I think the conversation really comes down to how much should we emphasize such skills in light of technology. My feelings is that handwriting should be fostered as students develop writing skills at the younger ages, both for their handwriting, and to develop fine-motor skills. Teachers beyond these early grades should support these skills, but not necessarily emphasize them as much as typing as students progress through school. Handwriting tends to be a skill that is developed and maintained naturally, so once students have them, it takes little to keep them. It's essentially an early investment that only requires basic support to keep for a lifetime. I, for one, think it is worth it.
ReplyDelete