How necessary is cursive writing? With all the technology today, is cursive even necessary? Will cursive even be used in the future? This debate may be hitting an elementary school near you in Maryland.
Most items for courts are done with electronic signature and doctors can use computerized programs to write prescriptions. With this new movement away from signatures, many schools systems nationwide are doing away with cursive instruction. In Maryland, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) does not even have cursive in the core standards.
Students currently enrolled in a Maryland public school may be the last generation receiving instruction in school on how to write using cursive. Many schools nationally are moving away from using instructional time on cursive writing. Instead, schools nationwide are placing more emphasis on math, reading and science instruction.
Many proponents of the cursive-free curriculum argue that without instructional time going to cursive instruction, schools can focus on assessment objectives tested by No Child Left Behind assessments.
Cursive is not included in the common core standards from the United States Department of Education. These core standards govern what is to be taught and what objectives should be included in lesson plans. This means that 46 states, including Maryland, may elect to move away from cursive instruction next year in the 2012-2013 school year. Hawaii and Indiana have already elected to stop cursive instruction.
There are some people who argue that cursive handwriting should be kept in schools. Many argue that necessity of signatures is not the only reasons to keep cursive writing in schools. MSDE will continue to suggest to local school systems, that cursive be taught in schools. Mary Cary, Assistant State Superintendent for Instruction, told the Baltimore Sun, that every school district is given flexibility to make its own decision.
In Baltimore City schools the decision to teach cursive is left up to each school principal, as does Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Baltimore County and Howard County public schools still require students to use cursive in elementary grades.
In Harford County, the Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School website states, “Cursive writing will be reinforced as taught in third grade.”
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