There’s a new message for students: Take your hands off the keyboard and pick up a pen.
Under a Connecticut law that took effect Jan. 1, the state is encouraging the teaching of cursive writing in public schools for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
While the law stops short of mandating instruction in cursive writing, Connecticut is among a growing list of states that recognize the benefit of writing by hand using slanted and curved strokes. There are 21 states that currently require some form of cursive writing instruction.
“The pen, when you do cursive, is really the first precision instrument and requires you to hold and manipulate that instrument,” said state Rep. Francis Cooley, a primary sponsor of the legislation, who represents Plainville and parts of Farmington and Southington. “That’s a fundamental building block not only for students who are going to write cursive later but also for any student who’s going to use precision instruments.”
The Connecticut initiative comes at a time when the use of cursive writing has declined in schools and has been overshadowed by a greater emphasis on digital literacy, especially since the introduction of the 2010 Common Core State Standards Initiative. The educational framework did not discourage cursive writing, it just did not include it in its standards.
“Cursive has come up at Board of Education meetings from time to time and not even annually, “ said Kimberly Fox-Santora, the principal at Samuel Staples Elementary School. “It’s just something that’s gone by.”
To develop the cursive writing curriculum, Irene Parisi, chief academic officer of the Connecticut Department of Education, sent out a request for information to school districts seeking data on existing manuscript and cursive writing curriculums. The law states public school districts may choose to implement the curriculum.
When a new curriculum is introduced, districts have leeway in the time allotted to introduce the program should the district move forward. Cooley said that the feedback received from constituents about the new education initiative has been “pretty positive.” But some express concern about fitting cursive instruction into an already packed academic schedule.
“When you think about the precious minutes that we have for instructional time, I think, ‘Wow, where are we going to fit that in?'” said Fox-Santora. “Because you need to practice it. “
