Is Cursive Writing No Longer Essential in Indiana Schools?

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SUMMARY

The Indiana Department of Education has officially ceased the requirement for public schools to teach cursive writing, reflecting a significant shift in educational priorities. Forum participants overwhelmingly agree that typing skills are more essential than cursive, with many noting that their handwriting has devolved into a mix of printing and cursive, primarily used for signatures. While some express concern over the potential loss of cursive reading skills, the consensus leans towards prioritizing typing and digital literacy over cursive instruction. The discussion highlights the evolving nature of communication in educational settings, emphasizing efficiency and practicality.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Indiana's educational policies regarding cursive writing.
  • Familiarity with typing skills and their importance in modern education.
  • Basic knowledge of handwriting styles, including cursive and printing.
  • Awareness of the implications of digital literacy in contemporary learning environments.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the impact of eliminating cursive writing on literacy and cognitive development.
  • Explore effective typing programs and their integration into school curriculums.
  • Investigate alternative handwriting styles and their benefits in educational settings.
  • Examine the role of technology, such as voice recognition software, in the future of communication.
USEFUL FOR

Educators, curriculum developers, parents, and anyone interested in the future of writing and communication skills in education.

  • #61
I guess I'm in the minority, but I see this as a bad thing. I grew up learning cursive, and had to use it basically all the through school, and pretty much up until college, I had to use it. When I was in school the perception was always pretty much that non-cursive was the "lazy" way to write, and cursive was the elegant, fluid, educated way to write.

Does it actually help you write faster? probably not. But it is somewhat of an artform. I did practive, and to this day I have to write excruciately slow in order to make it come out not looking like chicken scratch. but It's something worth keeping. Some day some archeologist may scratch his head at our cursive and it will have become "heiroglyphs"
 
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  • #62
It's a lot eaiser to write cursive in the snow than it is to print in the snow.
 
  • #63
BobG said:
It's a lot eaiser to write cursive in the snow than it is to print in the snow.
:smile: You dog you (respectfully speaking). I know exactly what you mean. Been there done that. :smile:
 
  • #64
dlgoff said:
Now my biggest problem is spelling since I heard things differently and phonics made no sense.

I was reading at age 3, and I still had significant trouble with phonics. What a complete waste of time.
 
  • #65
BobG said:
Not just voice recognition software, but the ability to search for spoken words/word combination and to cross reference to other spoken word sequences, etc and do it as fast, or faster, than computers handle numbers/words now. In other words, the ability to create an organized database of spoken words so no "written" records have to be kept at all.

That would be an interesting development if technology made written language, itself, obsolete, seeing as how written language was the key to so much of our technological development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hShY6xZWVGE
 
  • #66
Ivan Seeking said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hShY6xZWVGE

Love it. Go Scotty go.
 
  • #67
I've had several professors who won't accept hand written papers unless they are in cursive without errors. Writing things without my computer helps me with better spelling in the long run and makes me a little more diligent; I tend to write in a really sloppy manner when I am on a computer and make really embarrassing grammatical mistakes. Penmanship is good in a classroom situation, and I prefer to do proofs by hand and not on a program-- and cursive makes it look so darn good.
 
  • #68
thegreenlaser said:
I can't see written word ever being completely replaced by spoken word. I MUCH prefer reading to listening, especially with large documents, and I know a lot of people who would agree.

Consider the hearing-impaired, for whom reading versus listening is not a matter of mere preference.
 

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