I remember the first time my second-grade teacher permitted me to use cursive writing on my assignments. At the time, I viewed it as an accomplishment: I could now use cursive for all my assignments! Moreover, the teachers promoted cursive writing as more refined than print and linked to a sense of formality and elegance.<\/p>\n
I also remember the day in seventh grade when I stopped using cursive and switched back to print handwriting. A teacher had each student in my class grade another student\u2019s quiz\u2014an obvious timesaver. The girl who graded my assignment couldn\u2019t make out my cursive script, and I lost points because of it. In that moment, I resolved never to write in cursive again and to write only in print. <\/p>\n
Cursive handwriting is a lost art, and like so many others, I lost touch with it. Apparently, I also lost the cognitive benefits of using cursive.<\/p>\n
No longer a priority<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that instruction on handwriting in elementary schools is on the decline. Nowadays, everyone is using keyboards in lieu of print and cursive. The Common Core State Standards introduced in 2010 effectively sidelined cursive, with a focus on other curricula instead.<\/p>\n
Today, only about half of U.S. states require instruction. Some argue that there has been a resurgence in cursive handwriting, with larger states like California and Texas now teaching it. This muted comeback, however, pales in comparison to cursive\u2019s once hold on curricula in all states, and it\u2019s unclear how effectively cursive instruction has been reintroduced into curricula in states that now teach it.<\/p>\n
From my personal experience parenting<\/a> a child going to school in California, the introduction of cursive is cursory, with 15 minutes a day devoted to the practice in fourth grade. But the beauty of cursive instruction is practicing it for longer periods of time on lined paper with an instructor demonstrating long loops and flourishes at the chalkboard. <\/p>\n Although my son is a good student, he still can\u2019t write in cursive. He says it wasn\u2019t prioritized in his education<\/a>, with teachers never asking him to draft an essay in cursive\u2014just individual lines and words.<\/p>\n Cognitive benefits of handwriting explained<\/p>\n In recent years, researchers have used neuroimaging studies such as MRI, EEG, and PET to understand the mechanisms of handwriting as compared with typing. These studies have provided insights into the neural<\/a> mechanisms that underlie these two forms of written expression. This research has demonstrated that handwriting\u2014both print and cursive\u2014engages a broader and more integrated network of brain regions than does typing.<\/p>\n In the aggregate, compared with typing, handwriting recruits more sensorimotor and visuospatial circuits that support the complex coordination needed to produce script by hand. Handwriting more consistently triggers integrated brain regions, including those involved in motor planning, sensory processing<\/a>, language, and memory<\/a>. On the other hand, typing activates regions linked to repetitive finger movements, visual processing, and language.<\/p>\n