Texas to require elementary school students to learn how to write in cursive

[Swordsmyth]

Texas will reintroduce cursive writing to the state curriculum for elementary students beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
Second graders will learn how to write cursive letters, and third graders will be expected to "write complete words, thoughts, and answers legibly in cursive writing leaving appropriate spaces between words," according to the updated Texas Education Code. By the time they reach the fourth grade, students will be required to write legibly and complete assignments in cursive.


The State Board of Education modified the "English Language Arts and Reading" section of Texas’ standard education requirements, known as Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS in 2017, reported WCNC. The list of updated curriculum requirements, including the instruction of cursive writing, will be implemented in Texas schools beginning in September 2019.
Diane Schallert, a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, compared learning cursive to learning a new language. Schallert, who studies how language and learning coincide, told WCNC that requiring students to learn cursive can help children grow their comprehension skills.
"With language comprehension, there's this reciprocity between producing and comprehending," Schallert said. "By seeing the letter being formed slowly at your control, you're considering its sound-symbol correspondence."

More at: https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-ele...ive-curriculum

[spudea]

cool, I think its still a good skill even if not used much anymore. Its worth spending a small amount of time on at least.

[tod evans]

Good!

Maybe teach readin' writin' and 'rithmetic too....

[DamianTV]

Anyone ever heard of Denilian Handwriting? (I may have spelled that wrong)

[Stratovarious]

The term 'cursive' is one I hadn't heard of until about 5 or so years ago.
It was referred to as 'hand writing' , you learned to print first , then moved on
to learn hand writing.
I get they impression that they started using 'cursive' in an attempt to throw a veil of ancient, unnecessary,
prehistoric aura over it as if it was no longer useful nor needed.
I'm glad to see Texas taking this stance , reintroducing cursive/hand-writing, while others
I'm sure can't wait to see 'printing' done away with as well.

We have google's speech to text, text to speech , and a million little acronyms to take the
place of sentences, just look around on this site and you can see what's going on.
Not that tech is all bad, it isn't , but we shouldn't let it take over every aspect of our lives,
and completely.
You can just look around on this site as a microcosm of communication today; we have frequent
posters (good people) that never communicate using complete thoughts and clarity,
one-sentence folks , folks that you'll never see writing paragraphs or pages, to explain
their positions, they'll throw out a sentence and assume we can all just guess what
their position really is or how they came to it.
Then you've got' posters like me that just go on and on and on and on.........

[Danke]

Good!

Maybe teach readin' writin' and 'rithmetic too....

In Spanish.

[Grandmastersexsay]

A sentimental waste of time. They could be spending that time learning math. Even better, they could also drop music class and dedicate that to math as well.

[tod evans]

In Spanish.

French and Latin were offered when I was in school.

[euphemia]

If a student does not read cursive, the student can not read historical documents.

Cursive is important to brain development and fine motor coordination. Music has it’s place. It is mathematical at it’s foundation, and students who study music generally do well in other subjects.

[Grandmastersexsay]

If a student does not read cursive, the student can not read historical documents.

Cursive is important to brain development and fine motor coordination. Music has it’s place. It is mathematical at it’s foundation, and students who study music generally do well in other subjects.

Show me a historical document of any importance that hasn't been converted to normal text to view online.

Cursive is no more important than print for brain development and fine motor coordination.

Music is less mathematical than hop scotch.

You want your kids to learn cursive, teach them yourself. Don't waste my kids time by mandating it on the state level out of nostalgia. I learned q basic when I was in school. I don't think that is the programming language my kids should learn.

[euphemia]

On line. Baloney. Kids need direct access to source materials. It’s not nostalgia. Fine motor coordination is necessary to brain development. Cursive handwriting is a necessary skill. Let me tell you something, pal: The reason kids can’t write in the first place is they eat too much finger food. The same muscle that is used to hold a spoon or fork is the same muscle used to write.

Kids should be learning a lot more and learning it better than they do. The best thing is to home school.

[PursuePeace]

On line. Baloney. Kids need direct access to source materials. It’s not nostalgia. Fine motor coordination is necessary to brain development. Cursive handwriting is a necessary skill. Let me tell you something, pal: The reason kids can’t write in the first place is they eat too much finger food. The same muscle that is used to hold a spoon or fork is the same muscle used to write.

Kids should be learning a lot more and learning it better than they do. The best thing is to home school.

Totally agree.

[acptulsa]

Show me a historical document of any importance that hasn't been converted to normal text to view online.

OK. Come on over and I'll show you my grandfather's World War I memoirs.

What? That's not a document of importance? It is to me and other members of my family. Refusing to teach children cursive is about cutting people off from the past--their own genetic past, the ability to read for themselves thoughts from the past, a direct connection to the people who put pen to paper.

Maybe you think people should be too busy being productive little drones to have time for all that.

[Anti Globalist]

Only time I ever write in cursive now is when I have to sign something.

[Stratovarious]

Show me a historical document of any importance that hasn't been converted to normal text* to view online.
.

Show me any historical document of any importance that once rendered digitally, cannot be changed to whatever the
revisionists want us to think that original document said.

* ''normal text'' , as if 'handwriting' is not normal ?

[TheCount]

Let me tell you something, pal: The reason kids can’t write in the first place is they eat too much finger food. The same muscle that is used to hold a spoon or fork is the same muscle used to write.

Then mandate the use of chopsticks.

[Grandmastersexsay]

OK. Come on over and I'll show you my grandfather's World War I memoirs.

What? That's not a document of importance? It is to me and other members of my family. Refusing to teach children cursive is about cutting people off from the past--their own genetic past, the ability to read for themselves thoughts from the past, a direct connection to the people who put pen to paper.

Maybe you think people should be too busy being productive little drones to have time for all that.

Do your grandfather a favor and scan his letters and have them automatically converted to print. They could last forever in digital format. There are apps you can get on your phone that can do the same thing.

There is nothing wrong with productivity. It leads to prosperity.

[tod evans]

There is nothing wrong with productivity. It leads to prosperity.

There is 'nothing wrong' with learning new ways too, but to forsake the old ways in favor of the new is always foolish.

Study some history............Digitally if it's easier for you.

[euphemia]

There is a reason kids can’t do a lot of things. Fine motor coordination is one of those reasons. It is very important to brain development.

Cursive writing has been a means of communication in almost very language. Yes, different languages have their own versions of cursive. Just like every language uses a phonetic approach to reading. Old methods are better in a lot of ways. I deal with the public every day and it’s hard when people can’t do simple things because they were deprived of appropriate teaching methods when they were little.

[Grandmastersexsay]

There is a reason kids can’t do a lot of things. Fine motor coordination is one of those reasons. It is very important to brain development.

Cursive writing has been a means of communication in almost very language. Yes, different languages have their own versions of cursive. Just like every language uses a phonetic approach to reading. Old methods are better in a lot of ways. I deal with the public every day and it’s hard when people can’t do simple things because they were deprived of appropriate teaching methods when they were little.

How exactly does cursive teach fine motor control any better than writing print?

[PursuePeace]

OK. Come on over and I'll show you my grandfather's World War I memoirs.

What? That's not a document of importance? It is to me and other members of my family. Refusing to teach children cursive is about cutting people off from the past--their own genetic past, the ability to read for themselves thoughts from the past, a direct connection to the people who put pen to paper.

Maybe you think people should be too busy being productive little drones to have time for all that.

Exactly.

[Stratovarious]

Do your grandfather a favor and scan his letters and have them automatically converted to print. They could ''last forever in digital format''*. There are apps you can get on your phone that can do the same thing.

There is nothing wrong with productivity. It leads to prosperity.

iM not trying to beat up on you grandmastery. you're a good egg for sure......just pointing things out here.


* ''last forever in digital format''.

Nothing could go wrong.

I loved it when cassette tapes came out , they were going to last a million years, turns out
that a lot of them degrade to illegible garble in couple years, depending on environment.
Handwritten documents have held up for hundreds and hundreds of years.

They (old timers) may have unwittingly done everyone a favor by not being subjected to 'foolproof' new-tech.

[PursuePeace]

Future Kid: What the heck does that even say? What are those strange letters? Are those even letters? Teacher, help.
Government: Here kid, we have translated it for you in this nice bold font for easy reading:

[specsaregood]

Cursive is no more important than print for brain development and fine motor coordination.

I feel as if you are just trolling for fun; but just in case you aren't. Cursive uses and exercises a completely different part of the brain than printing. don't ask me why, it just does. stroke victims have been known to lose all ability to print or speak, but can still write perfectly legible cursive.

[Ender]

I feel as if you are just trolling for fun; but just in case you aren't. Cursive uses and exercises a completely different part of the brain than printing. don't ask me why, it just does. stroke victims have been known to lose all ability to print or speak, but can still write perfectly legible cursive.

Exactly.

Cursive works like the arts & connects the brain, helping people to use both sides of the head & become whole thinkers.

[donnay]

A lot of these kids need to learn how to print as well. Some people print where you can barely read it.

When you learn how to write cursive, your ideas flow when you write. I find it much easier to write in cursive than it is for me to print something.

I also do calligraphy. I would write invitations and reports needed in calligraphy.

[Grandmastersexsay]

iM not trying to beat up on you grandmastery. you're a good egg for sure......just pointing things out here.


* ''last forever in digital format''.

Nothing could go wrong.

I loved it when cassette tapes came out , they were going to last a million years, turns out
that a lot of them degrade to illegible garble in couple years, depending on environment.
Handwritten documents have held up for hundreds and hundreds of years.

They (old timers) may have unwittingly done everyone a favor by not being subjected to 'foolproof' new-tech.

This should be able to outlast paper.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5D_optical_data_storage

[Anti Globalist]

Admittedly I actually wrote in cursive for most of middle school and high school while everyone else stopped.

[Stratovarious]

This should be able to outlast paper.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5D_optical_data_storage

... any historical document of any importance , once rendered digitally, can be changed to whatever the
revisionists want us to think that original document said.
The rendering process is another 'back door' , deep state, pc feature all on its own , as well.

[acptulsa]

This should be able to outlast paper.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5D_optical_data_storage

But will the devices that read it?

Sony Beta videotape has held up halfway well. Find a working player. Bakelite is durable. Find me a working turntable with the 78 RPM setting. Punch cards last as long as baseball cards. Without a computer interface that reads them, which is more valuable?

You're just arguing to be arguing now.