Some States Don't Want Cursive Classes to go by the Keyboards

Linden Bateman, a representative in Ohio, says that script handwriting should be used more than typing on keyboards. He says that writing in cursive builds brain cells and excercizes the mind more than just tapping keys on the keyboard. Bateman has said that it is true that using keyboards is useful in the digital age, because people need to know how to type for some things. Apparently, Bateman sends about 125 letters a year. There is evidence that adults do not use cursive on a daily basis, but they use a strange mixture of script and print.

Morgan Polikoff, an education expert, says,"Stop and think about it for a while. Children are more likely to succeed by typing on a computer than writing cursive." This statement does make sense. Around this era, not many people send script letters to each other. They are more likely to send eMails to one another. But it is classified as more polite to send pretty Holiday cards with fancy curvy writing in it.

Some states in the US have made schools teach cursive. These states are California, Idaho, Ohio, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Utah. Cursive is more likely to improve motor skills and hand-eye coordination. These will help children with reading, writing and thinking skills. Further arguments state that people will not be able to read important documents if they cannot read cursive.


95% of teenagers use the internet. The count of people who use the internet on their smartphone has gone from 23 percent in 2011 to 37 percent today. A report has found that the volume of text messaging has rose from 50 a day in 2009 to 60 a day two years later.

Despite the former researches, Kristen Purcell, a specialist, says that kids should handwrite some or most parts of the day. Teachers gave two reasons. One, all standardized testing is still written on paper. And two, writing by hand will make their thinking slower, therefore making their thoughts fuller and deeper. Results say that teens prefer typing that handwriting, and typing is far neater. But some  of them still handwrite when writing entries in their journal, writing music lyrics or short stories.

A high school student says,"I find it hard to think creatively when I am typing. So I handwrite everything first, then copy it onto a computer. I don't know, that's just how I am." Adults unable to write in cursive think back to the time of Jacob Lew. Barack Obama nominated him as treasury secretary. But there was one problem. Lew's signature looked more like a pattern of loops than the distinct letters of his name. As a secretary of treasury, his signature would be on the US dollar bill.

Lew said,"The president told me to make at least one letter in my name legible."

Take a look at the original article at Newsela!