State of Texas Takes Hard Stance on Teaching Cursive Writing in Classrooms
Handwriting has been a thing of the past in many schools. With classrooms across the country making daily use of technology with iPads, Chromebooks and the like, there hasn’t been much reason for handwriting in the opinion of some.
Of course, others would argue good penmanship is absolutely vital to a well-rounded education. If not taught to write well, students ought to at least be able to read penmanship, or so the cursive advocates say.
Texas schools bringing cursive back to classrooms https://t.co/qXwkqJb7v4 via @wwaynews pic.twitter.com/CitK30sxbi
— Artstrada Magazine (@Artstrada) April 10, 2019
After all, plenty of historical documents and even something as simple as a letter from grandma are handwritten the old-fashioned way.
Some states have added cursive back into their curriculum in recent years, even though many educators don’t see the skill as necessary or relevant.
In 2015, TODAY reported Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee all updated Common Core standards for certain grades — standards that required students learn the age-old form of writing.
Texas schools are bringing cursive back to classrooms. The debate over whether or not students should learn cursive has gone on for years. What do you think? https://t.co/jXRiLAwIIc pic.twitter.com/z5Zx4lUFqa
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) April 9, 2019
A similar article from The Washington Post in 2016 noted many other states require cursive as well. Included on the list are Virginia, California and the great Lone Star State, Texas.
“I think it’s really discouraging to get a note from a college graduate that is printed like a second-grader,” Louisiana state senator Beth Mizell told the Post at that time.
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— Austin Statesman (@statesman) April 10, 2019
Now Texas is making everything official. According to KVUE, in 2017, Texas changed what was required in their language arts curriculum.
As of the 2019-2020 school year, those changes will be in full swing. It will be interesting to see how parents react to the new addition to the classroom.
Updates to the standards will require cursive be taught as of second grade, and their skills will continue to grow in succeeding grades over the years.
Cursive writing to return to #Texas schoolshttps://t.co/BQIolmGbX5
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) April 8, 2019
All Texas school districts will be affected by the changes. According to the Houston Chronicle, it’s been the norm for some time for teachers in the state to focus more on keyboarding and less on traditional handwriting, so this will be quite the adjustment.
Does your state require cursive be taught in schools? Do you feel it’s a lost art, or simply an unnecessary hassle that would be better left in the past?
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