California has enacted a law requiring schools to teach cursive writing. For years, learning cursive was considered an outdated and unnecessary skill, but the heavy reliance on technology has led to a generation being left behind.
The push for cursive came from concerns about not being able to read historical documents, old letters and family recipes. Assemblymember Sharon Qurik-Silva, D-Fullerton, told the Los Angeles Times that cursive skills are necessary for things like writing checks, signing medical forms, obtaining driver’s licenses and voting.
“Every child should be exposed to learning — as well as the benefits of — cursive writing,” Quirk-Silva said.
By 2016, only 12 states required learning cursive. Since then, 10 states have considered bringing it back, including California and New Hampshire, according to MyCursive.
Educator Debbie McCleskey Baker said, on the National Education Association website, that the three benefits of writing in cursive are that it: Trains the brain to learn functional specialization, and improves memory and fine motor skills, which means students who have illegible print often have legible cursive handwriting.
On the same association web page, educator Cheri Cahill said cursive “strengthens the cross-hemisphere connections in the brain. Helps students later with problem-solving and abstract thinking.”
“As a math teacher, I think students should learn cursive to help their brains develop those connections needed later in life,” Cahill said.
