I found a discussion about if schools should require children to learn cursive in Room for Debate, and in my opinion, I don't think it is necessary for students to learn cursive in school. I think cursive is easy to learn if you put practice and effort into it so learning it at home shouldn’t be a problem. Debaters Morgan Polikoff and Kate Gladstone believe schools shouldn't be worried about teaching cursive because what matters the most is their academic skills and not this "basic foundation skill," and I solidly agree with this statement. Gladstone argues, "Adults increasingly abandon cursive," and that teachers "shun" cursive so why should we teach it if we are just going to throw it away someday? Debaters Suzanne Baruch Asherson and Jimmy Bryant think so otherwise and insist that schools should require the lessons for cursive writing because it benefits us and we should be keeping our cultural tradition. According to Asherson, she believes, "...writing in cursive leads to increased comprehension and participation," and also, "A few years ago, the College Board found that students who wrote in cursive for the essay portion of the SAT scored slightly higher than those who printed." Bryant, on the other hand, reckons that “Cursive writing is a long-held cultural tradition in this country and should continue to be taught; not just for the sake of tradition, but also to preserve the history of our nation.”
What do you think about this matter?
Debate: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/30/should-schools-require-children-to-learn-cursive
Debate: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/30/should-schools-require-children-to-learn-cursive
--- Nicole Burgos
I don't write in cursive anymore as I tend to write slower when I use it. After years of never using it aside from Elementary school, my ability to write in cursive has dimmed. I think just that alone proves that cursive shouldn't have to be mandatory anymore. There is hardly a use for it, and if anyone wants to learn it, they could easily print out a cursive worksheet and practice on their own. I disagree with Bryant's point on cursive being the partial basis of our history. That's like saying riding in a horse-drawn carriage is an American tradition, and that we should stop driving cars to preserve our history. If it isn't useful then it seems pointless to continue teaching it. I understood Asherson's point on cursive and higher SAT scores, but I think there are other factors that contributed to certain individuals scoring higher rather than their style of writing. That seems like a false cause fallacy where two factors are linked together even though they were just coincidentally found together.
ReplyDeleteI do not think cursive is necessary to teach in school because if someone really wants to learn it they can do it themselves in their spare time. I use a mixture of both cursive and printing which is the fastest method of writing for me to use. A lot of people know how to write in cursive, but they never use it. This skill is a valuable one to have but only if you actually put it to use. The teaching of cursive writing to students is fun and interesting for the students, but that time could be used by teaching something more important and useful. I do not believe that teachers should stress about trying to get every child to learn cursive because in reality most of them will rarely ever use it later on in their life. I believe that it matters more about what is written than the type of writing used.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that cursive should not be taught in school. The only thing I think should be taught is how to write your signature because many kids still don't know how to do that. With this new technological world, your signature is still carried throughout everything you do. Cursive itself seems to be more of a hobby nowadays. I don't believe I've seen any kids younger than me write in cursive or know how to. Most people don't need to know how to write cursive because of our new technological society, it is sad to see something that was so important now be diminished to something nice to know how to do.
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