Cursive Writing Not Required by Common Core Curriculum

The introduction and implementation of the Common Core curriculum in forty-six states will not only help provide a consistent and clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, but is also designed to be relevant to the real world, allowing young students to prepare and succeed in college and careers. Although the application of the Common Core Standards is the first step in providing high-quality education, critics are concerned that the new standards do not require teaching cursive writing. Scott Elliot, author of the article, "New Standards Don't Require Students to Learn Cursive Writing," exclaims, "Walk into any school these days and the kids aren't working on their loops. They're in keyboarding class. Cursive writing and handwritten letters are the past. Keyboarding, emails and texts are the now - and the future."

This month, Indiana has joined the rapidly growing list of states that have adopted the Common Core Standards and do not require students to learn cursive writing. Because of this national transition away from cursive and toward the future of typing, Indiana will now mandate schools to teach younger students keyboarding skills in elementary schools. Although governors in those forty-six states have agreed to common standards and common tests to measure whether students are successfully learning the material, many Indiana educators and parents alike disagree about the move away from cursive instruction. Jerry Long, who has a sixth-grade daughter at Skiles Test Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana, states, "I think they should have the opportunity to learn all the skills they will need. How are they supposed to know how to sign their names?" Furthermore, both parents and educators agree that even though cursive is not demanded by the state, it is a necessary and practical skill that should be taught in schools.

Literacy expert Deborah Corpus of the Butler University College of Education Indianapolis, Indiana has been a curriculum coordinator since the mid-1980s and remains neutral concerning many of the arguments against the dissolution of handwriting instruction. She explains, "There is nowhere to buy the time and do all things well. It's been a trade-off instead. Handwriting instruction takes a long time and lots of practice to get proficient."

Tell us what you think! Should handwriting and cursive instruction be a part of the Common Core Standards?

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110710/NEWS04/107100364/New-standards-don-t-require-students-learn-cursive-writing?odyssey=mod%7Cmostcom

Posted in: