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The Common Core Standards doesn’t require cursive writing, leaving it up to the individual states to decide if they want to teach it. Florida, however, doesn’t subscribe to the Common Core Standards per se, but rather to its own version, known as the Florida State Standards. Under the Florida State Standards, according to Paula Ginn, director of curriculum for the Madison County School District, cursive writing is part of the language arts requirements for grades third, fourth and fifth.
Cursive is making a comeback, but according to many, it shouldn't have been removed from school curriculum in the first place. In a time of keyboards, texting, and spell check, the art and skill of writing in cursive has been shunned in some academic circles. These groups claim that valuable time is wasted teaching students cursive, when it could instead be used improving math and technology skills. The Common Core standards do not include cursive writing.
According to Sue Pimentel, one of the lead writers of the English/Language arts standards of Common Core, there is not room in the curriculum for teaching technology and cursive. “We thought that more and more of student communications and adult communications are via technology. And knowing how to use technology to communicate and to write was most critical for students,” she said. “The idea is you have to pick things to put in there... It really was a discussion,” said Pimentel.
Some states, such as Tennessee and California, have added cursive to their standards. Louisiana mandated that cursive shall be taught every year after third grade.
One of the most logical arguments for keeping cursive in schools is that most of our country's historical documents are written in cursive. How can one truly enjoy the freedoms afforded by the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution if they cannot read the documents?
Some emphasize that cursive is a valuable tool because it increases writing speed. The counter argument from those opposed to cursive claim that students will typically be composing on computers anyway, so the speed at which they write is irrelevant.
Regardless of anyone's opinions, there are several facts to consider when discussing cursive, or handwriting in general. Many mid to high-level job hiring processes require individuals to write an essay. The SAT and other standardized test require writing as well, and, according to studies, students who write their essays in cursive perform better on those tests than those who do not.
Columnist Robert Klose, of The Christian Science Monitor, offered yet another thing to consider regarding the teaching of cursive, when he wrote “Perhaps the strongest argument for the retention of cursive is that it is, or at least can be, beautiful. If you have forgotten this, take a look at the Magna Carta, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Text typed on a computer is not beautiful because it is not distinctive – my Helvetica font is the same as yours or anybody else’s.”
In Madison County schools, both public and private, cursive is still being incorporated into the curriculum. According to Paula Ginn, Coordinator of Federal Programs, Adult Education, and Charter School Liaison for the Madison County School District, cursive is integrated into the Reading/Language Arts block. It is typically introduced to students in the third grade, and remains in the State of Florida standards until the fifth grade. The progression of cursive usage, as defined by the standards, changes from students demonstrating “beginning” cursive writing skills in third grade, to “legible” cursive skills in fourth grade, and “fluent” cursive skills in fifth grade. “There is not as big of an emphasis on cursive now as there was years ago when there were handwriting classes,” said Ginn. Janna Barrs, Executive Director of Madison Creative Arts Academy (MCAA), said that cursive is taught to students beginning in the third grade. “This year, 144 new students were enrolled, and, many of our new third graders have never been introduced to cursive, making it difficult to refine those cursive skills in fourth grade,” said Barrs. “There are compelling arguments on both sides of the cursive handwriting debate. At MCAA we are committed to including cursive writing in our program while the debate rages. We are not ready to give up this valuable form of communication just yet.”
At New Testament Christian School, cursive is taught in grades second through sixth. Principal Justin Riegsecker said that “cursive, similar to art, enriches student's lives. If nothing else, they can sign their name properly.”