The irony of me typewriting this letter is not lost, but the case for appropriate use of messaging and various forms of communication is the subject of this letter. Facilitating useful communication is at the heart of writing. Learning to write in cursive is more than just an exercise in order to develop a written signature.
For our Illinois State Board of Education to strike down the need for teaching and learning cursive is small-minded, short-sighted and lacking an understanding of what is actually happening for the learner as they develop their cursive writing skills.
First, there are focused fine motor, manipulative skills that receive practice with cursive writing. As a visual arts educator, I have noticed a serious decline in fine motor dexterity among young people; even with their tiny text keypads, their motions are limited. Their patience with fine motor tasks is often frustrated and short.
Second, students learn a parts-to-whole concept in practicing cursive writing. The letters have to flow and connect to create the meaning of the word as a whole. The flow from left to right also encourages a young reader in the progress of the greater understanding of a word's or sentence's meaning.
Third, children can learn to decipher interpretations and styles of the cursive shapes of others'. Learning to interpret, decode and appreciate individual style is a skill also lacking in young people. We tell kids to "think outside the box," but we are continually contradicting that by insisting that their communications all look the same or by tolerating text abbreviations in writing tasks.
Fourth, cursive is usually gentle. But cursive, even when rough-handed, is compelling to see in terms of flow and style. Our world is so much homogenized pabulum nowadays. Expressing oneself in cursive can help formulate our individual expressive self. Imagine how difficult it may be in a future where there is no way to identify the authenticity of someone's writing or signature. While there is certainly style to the hand-printed word, it is less interesting to see. It has less character.
It seems that we believe all future communications will be done through electronic media. This is sad if not naive. To achieve inference and big picture thinking with the ability to appreciate others while finessing motor skills within a simple task, why let it go? We should be cursive writing's champions.
-- Julie Sorensen, Sycamore