SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 16 submissions in the queue.
SoylentNews
The NY Times asks does handwriting matter? The Common Core standards stop teaching handwriting after the first grade, preferring a proficiency in typing after that.
However, studies are showing that children learn faster, are able to retain more information, and generate new ideas when they first learn to write by hand. The process of thinking about how to form a letter and putting it on the page stimulates more areas of the brain. This come from the inherent messiness in free-form writing, which can be a valuable learning tool.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight.
(Score: 2) by efitton on Wednesday June 04 2014, @01:51PM
Why do we need to be able to read cursive? Honestly, historical documents have already been typeset non-cursive. It is the ideas of the Declaration of Independence, the cursive adds no value. At a minimum, a few academics will keep it alive. I mean, we don't spend a lot of time on Roman Numerals. They have historical significance but honestly, how often should anyone care?
As for the SAT boost: correlation is not causation. Your article also put it as a "slightly higher score" and there were no measure of statistical significance or an actual reporting on how much higher the score was. (It could be statistically significant but so trivial as to be meaningless). How long before students just take the SAT on a computer and type their essay? I also note no one is claiming a higher score on the non-essay section and most colleges don't actually care about the essay.
So my students could be reading, writing, doing math or problem solving with the inordinate amount of time we use to spend teaching cursive and you want to save it for those two reasons?
(Score: 1) by WillAdams on Wednesday June 04 2014, @02:41PM
Because it's a fundamental skill which improves the ability to communicate, to preserve information and to express oneself.
Studying and practicing handwriting provides an affordable way to practice and acquire fine motor control and skills which translate into the ability to do fine manipulations, &c.
It can be worked into the curriculum in place of fragile, expensive, electronic devices at a net savings.
(Score: 2) by efitton on Wednesday June 04 2014, @07:08PM
You claiming it is a fundamental skill does not make it so.
Many different tasks can be used to practice fine motor skills, including print writing.
It is not the financial cost of cursive that is the problem, it is the cost of time that is the problem. Reading, arithmetic, problem solving can all be bolstered by dropping cursive as a requirement.