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Every weekday morning, I pull out those familiar dotted three-lined sheets and create handwriting exercises for my three sons. They complain and resist, often requiring a bit of time for their ADHD medications to kick in before we can even start. “I can’t stand learning cursive,” my nine-year-old, Leo, tells me—every single morning. “You have to learn it,” I reply, perhaps a bit too harshly. “Many high school students struggle to read cursive. At least, that’s what I’ve seen.”
There’s plenty of debate on this topic, but we press on. Historical documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta are written in cursive, and I don’t want my kids to be unable to read these important texts. That kind of ignorance is something I just can’t accept.
Leo isn’t the only one who feels this way. A third-grade teacher named Sarah Thompson, who works in a public school in Brooklyn, shared with The New York Times that incorporating cursive into the curriculum feels like a nostalgic gesture. “As a millennial teacher, it feels a bit like a boomer initiative,” she said. “There are so many other important skills to teach, like typing, digital literacy, and social activism.”
But we are fortunate enough to homeschool, which gives me the flexibility to include all of that. And let’s not forget, everyone needs a signature, and cursive is still used in various signs and fonts. Kids should know how to read it to navigate the world as literate adults. Plus, cursive writing is generally quicker.
So, my kids are learning cursive, regardless of what Ms. Thompson thinks.
Learning Cursive Requires Time
Ms. Thompson was correct about one thing: mastering cursive takes time. We dedicate about twenty minutes daily to handwriting practice. I spend an additional twenty minutes preparing their sheets, which started with individual letters and have now progressed to quotes and poems.
While I could use a textbook, I often find myself too lazy to look for one. Do I need to guide everyone through this process? Absolutely. Learning cursive is challenging. There’s a lot of instruction involved: Stay on the bottom line, how to form O’s and A’s, and not lifting the pencil too much. Teachers would need assistance in a classroom of thirty. When my middle son has meltdowns about it, I often find myself coaching him through each letter. He’s nine and still struggles with it, but he has difficulties with printing as well. But I refuse to give up.
Why I Teach My Kids Cursive
My oldest son manages to complete his handwriting exercises with relatively good cursive. This is remarkable since he has dysgraphia, which impacts his letter formation and spelling. His printing resembles that of a kindergartener, yet at eleven, he finds pride and accomplishment in learning cursive. It gives him a means to express himself through writing.
My other two sons need to learn cursive too, to function as adults. When I design T-shirts, I use cursive fonts, and in everyday life, I encounter cursive signs. When I read the Declaration of Independence, I’m reading cursive text. Thomas Jefferson certainly didn’t write it in neat block letters for everyone’s convenience.
Being literate means being able to read various scripts, including cursive. Imagine if future generations struggle to read the Declaration of Independence. It’s a beautiful document, but what if they can’t grasp the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”? We can debate Jefferson’s intentions indefinitely, but as a foundational statement, it remains profound.
So, my kids can complain and throw tantrums. Just a few months ago, Leo couldn’t form a cursive A. Now, my seven-year-old has successfully written “Ariel’s Song” from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It’s not perfect, and I had to help him, but he did it. All of them now have legal signatures.
They may one day grumble that cursive is obsolete and only useful for signing documents, but at least they’ll have the capability to read it.
For more insights on parenting and education, check out our other blog posts on home insemination kits and tips for effective learning.