Cursive Handwriting Is On Its Way Out: Will That Affect Our Ability To Read?

More and more states are taking cursive handwriting out of the curriculum, focusing instead on typing and digital communication. But the benefits of cursive writing can’t be denied. Linden Bateman, an Idaho state representative who is fighting to keep cursive writing in schools, argues, “Modern research indicates that more areas of the human brain are engaged when children use cursive handwriting than when they keyboard. We’re not thinking this through. It’s beyond belief to me that states have allowed cursive to slip from the standards.” In 2003, a study by French researchers found that certain areas of the brain only light up when we read letters that have been handwritten. Jean-Luc Velay, one of the study authors, explains, “The letters learned by hand were more readily recognized than those learned with a keyboard. When kids learned to write by hand, the motor areas of the brain learned to pick up symbols the hand had already written. Somehow there was a connection between the physical act of writing and the mental act of reading.” While learning to type is critical for students growing up in a digital world, many people feel strongly that handwriting is still a necessary skill that children should develop.

Medical Daily, 11/15/13