Amid growing attention to artificial intelligence in public education, more teachers are revisiting historically human abilities – such as cursive writing.
In one recent example, Pennsylvania has brought back cursive as a required subject for private and public schools in a bill passed this February, set to take effect this month.
“Pennsylvania and many other states ditched cursive writing as a mandatory subject in the early 2010s when they adopted Common Core education standards, which focused more on keyboard skills,” Axios Pittsburgh wrote.
However, many teachers described their “longing to go back to a time when things were a little simpler,” according to the news article.
“Spending valuable class time teaching students to put pen to paper is a nationwide trend, despite students using computers for a growing share of assignments.”
Benefits of cursive for self-development, “historical literacy”
As previously reported by The Lion, advocates of cursive and other handwriting forms highlight their personal benefits.
“The reason why you educate yourself is for self-development,” said Jake Weidmann, a world Master Penman. “It’s not just to turn something out that is quickly executed. It’s like, ‘If the machine can do it for you, you might as well abdicate it to the machine.’
“That’s all well and good for the sake of the machine but what does that actually do for your own personal development? How does that change the way that you think, the way that you function, and the way that you perceive the world?”
Studies also note the way cursive can help children improve their reading, writing and spelling skills.
For instance, brain scans on children who learned cursive “found that the different parts of the brain which are engaged are similar to those that adults typically use when writing and doing higher reasoning,” Weidmann explained in a TedTalk. “[But] the screen went blank when the kids were doing typing because it didn’t involve the same type of tactile movement.”
Cursive could also be considered a patriotic pastime, argues Republican State Rep. Dane Watro, who sponsored the bill.
“Beyond its developmental advantages, cursive is a key to unlocking historical documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,” explained the senator’s office in a statement. “Preserving the ability to read and write in cursive ensures future generations can access and understand these foundational texts, strengthening civic engagement and historical literacy.”