My high school senior nephew cannot read or write cursive

[Chiquitita]

197. I read it and this was my reply

Last edited Thu Mar 16, 2017, 11:54 AM - Edit history (2)

(put it here instead of below). My proposal is that our public curriculum should teach handwriting that includes exposure to cursive without forcing it. Rather than a print/cursive model, could we teach them a font/handwriting model? Something like... kids should be taught to write by hand, and to notice that their own manuscript varies from mechanically reproduced fonts and that there is an expressive element in that they can control and that they do not need to submit to anyone else's categories of which is better. I don't think it should be taught in art class because art time is so reduced already. I'd rather see handwriting integrated into math/reading/science/social studies. There are times in all fields when writing by hand may be needed. (Or you may just want to make cool graffiti).

For the record I'm public schools all the way, both my husband and I are teachers. Not a "choice mantra" "propaganda" or parasitic charter school advocate, nor do I advocate "forced teaching of hobby skills" -- I know you weren't insinuating that my position was aligned with those views, but I don't think that people who value cursive are necessarily pro corporate capitalism, on the contrary. Handwriting can be an act of resistance to a culture that puts a time limit and a price tag on everything and wants to convert kids into a homogenized drone "workforce" that depends on pricey tech products and is incapable of DIY.

Some of the comments in the NYT article talk about the thinking slow effect of writing in cursive if you are interested in hearing other points of view. For me experimenting with handwriting was great fun and my teacher was quite lenient and inspiring. I enjoyed that it allowed me to "go slow," and still do. Low tech language skills such as handwriting, that a good number of people find useful and that play an important role in collective cultural history, don't deserve to be reviled or marginalized.