This is my proclamation post…a ginormous HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

It’s time to get the word out on cursive writing…its importance, its benefits, its need in our Society.

Hear Me Out, please!

WHEN CURSIVE?

Cursive writing has been around for 5000 years.

Writers with quill pens were able to write smoothly and quickly without taking their pen off the page.

Interestingly, the word, “cursive,” traces its roots back to the Latin word, “currere,” which means “to run.”

WHY CURSIVE?

Using cursive activates a myriad of activities in the brain

that enhance our thinking, our language, and our working memory.

Its competitor, keyboarding, has little or NO value at all in exercising the intellect.

I look at it this way. Cursive is like eating dark greens, rich in vitamins and minerals.

Whereas, keyboarding is the iceberg lettuce with little or no nutritive worth!

OH TO ITS EASE & BRAIN BENEFITS!

With cursive, the writing utensil is rarely taken off the page, creating an ease and flow of the hand. Cursive writing is a cardio-spin workout for the brain!

Seeing the letters…touching the pen…using our fine motor skills… All the while, our brain is synchronizing all kinds of data at the same time!

Dr. William Klemm, the “Memory Medic,”even suggests

“Cursive can provide similar benefits to the brain as learning to play a musical instrument.”

Hand-eye coordination, memory, language, spelling, individuality…are just a few of Cursive’s perks. Students with dyslexia benefit from the connected-ness and flow of the cursive letters.

Let’s settle it right now that…Cursive packs a punch!

WHAT HAPPENED TO CURSIVE?

So what’s happened to Cursive? Why isn’t it taught much, if at all, in public schools?

There is hope…we are seeing comebacks.  Texas has reinstated it into their curriculum.

THE CULPRITS

Developed in 2009, “the Common Core State Standards are a clear set of shared goals and expectations

for the knowledge and skills students need in English language, arts, and mathematics at each grade

level so they can be prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.

Basically with the Common Core, the teachers “teach to the tests.”

Individuality and special gifting of each learner is put aside, as both teachers and students undergo undue pressure to pass a test that has absolutely NO depth of authentic learning.

Cursive usage went downhill as keyboarding and technology gained popularity.

Once the Common Core State Standards infused the states’ curriculum, cursive writing was no longer a mandate to be taught.

It took the back seat.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITHOUT CURSIVE?

It’s amazing the conversations that percolate when you mention anything about it. Everyone has a shocking story to share.

I met a very ingenuous, young entrepreneur last month, a good-looking young man in his late 20’s or 30’s, with a very successful business.

He was unable to read a check he got from one of his customers because it was in cursive! He had the shrewdness, but….he had NO cursive!

Another retired educator I met, has a brilliant granddaughter up East who received a full-ride college scholarship to one of the Ivy League Schools.

To her dismay, she could not sign her name! She had the brains, but NO signature.

What are we doing in this nation that we give tons of money to smart young adults with top ranks….yet they DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SIGN THEIR NAMES?????

I’ve got one more.

The granddaughter of a prominent local salesman here, recently transferred to a public school in this area.

She had learned cursive from the school she attended before. However, upon arrival to her new school, she was told by her teacher that she could not write in cursive.

Why? The teacher, herself, did not know how to read or write it!

To not know cursive, is truly a demise to any person who has the intelligence to run a business, to earn a scholarship, or to be a teacher.

No matter how techology-minded this nation has become, we cannot forsake the use of our hands to write cursive, and to create!

WHAT NOW?

So there you have it! What now?

It’s time to get the word out how important cursive is.

I wrote  The Cursive Letters Revolt!!  with the intention to raise the awareness of just how important Cursive Writing is to this nation.

And…I might add, we are the ONLY nation that has neglected it.

More on that in a future post! Thanks for hearing me out!! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Post a comment please!

In the mean time…keep your cursive thriving.

Encourage others to do the same!…Cursive IS for Keeps!

Sunny thoughts!