Will Cursive be the Heiroglyphics of the Future?

            In the past, one of the first things children were taught was how to write words onto paper using print.  After children mastered the skill of printing they were taught a more skillful and elaborate form of writing called cursive.  It was an unquestionable subject that everyone would learn.  At the same time as I was learning cursive was about when my generation got a bit caught up in the technology ‘boom’, so to speak.  I have recently been informed that children are not learning to write in cursive any longer because technology has taken over certain aspects of school.  About 40 of our 50 states are phasing out cursive lesson plans in their curriculum.  So now our youth has extra computer and typing classes and fewer classes on writing without the aid of technology.  Our children should learn cursive writing in school because of its ease and convenience, not to mention the significance of a person’s signature.  Any person living in America can agree upon the importance of being able to sign their name, and knowing the value of their signature.  I remember my mother telling me how my signing something is a very powerful thing; it is my consent in writing.  Children need to know how to sign their name on a document, and what it means.  

Although we still teach our children to write in print, it is not the same as cursive hand writing.  Not only is a signature important, but cursive writing is a more efficient and practical way to write.  At first it may be challenging for students to learn cursive, but once they have mastered the skill, they will have a faster way to write.  In school, the importance of taking good notes is often stressed.  Note taking has never been my strong suit, but it definitely helps to know cursive.  It allows a student to write faster without as much thought to each letter individually.  Since note taking is something that all students must face, all students should also have the ability to use cursive.  I as a college student, use my knowledge of cursive constantly.  When taking notes in class, I almost always write in cursive because it articulates my thoughts onto paper in a faster fashion.  Although some people opt to use their computers to take notes, I do not always prefer the use of a computer because of their tendency to distract.  So I know from experience that when I am taking long detailed notes, cursive is a thoroughly more useful method.  

Studies actually show that handwriting is better for learning because it is a way for students to review and help retain important information.  By writing our notes out, we give our brains another chance to go over the information being written.  Handwriting also allows for self expression.  It enables a writer to let words flow out of their pen onto their paper in a smoother way than when a writer types their thoughts.  Sometimes a writer may feel as though their pen is just moving and their thoughts are appearing on paper, but technology does not allow a writer that freedom that handwriting allows them.  Without teaching our youth cursive, we are potentially taking away a valuable lesson and essentially a tradition that we should be protecting.  Cursive may not be used as often in everyday life, but it is still important to teach our children cursive.  We do not want the tradition of cursive to one day become hieroglyphics so that people in the future will not be able to read historical documents.  We should not let time and our advancements take away precious traditions, such as a person’s own individual penmanship.