Where do I begin?

As I purposed to delve into this journey of finding cursive on our planet,

I had to ask myself…”Where do I begin?” “What questions do I ask?”

Drawing upon the prowess of Google (!)…

I began keying in “Cursive in Europe…then Africa…Australia…and the rest of the major continents.”

Blogs from PBS, former expats, an occupational therapist from South Africa…began stoking my research.

Newspaper articles from Sydney, Australia, Japan, and China fueled my findings.

Reddit.com had some interesting discussions on Cursive as well.

Most of the articles dated back 5 years.

A huge WOW to the diversity of discoveries I dug up! Here goes:

 

CANADA

Our northern neighbor, seems to be divided in its quest for cursive.

Quebec no longer teaches it.

Ontario requires it between 3rd and 5th grade.

The teachers claim to have little time to teach it though.

It seems Canadian parents are as concerned about the demise of cursive as we are in the U.S.

Here’s a quote from a Canadian mother:

“Even if the importance of good handwriting diminishes with every text sent and emoji searched for,

legible cursive is still an important mode of communication.

There is nothing like getting a handwritten note.

It’s personal in a way e-mail will never be.”

 

WHAT ABOUT EUROPE?

The general concensus in Europe, with Finland as an exception, is…

Cursive writing is still being taught.

Here’s what I found:

THE UK

The United Kingdom refers to cursive as “joined up writing,” and it still is alive.

Here are some comments from the Brits on reddit.com

“Having your child being able to write in a fashion that shows class is a good investment.”

“Yes, in Europe having proper handwriting shows class, because that’s not something you can fake.”

“If you can’t do ‘joined up writing,’ you don’t deserve to call yourself an adult.

There’s simply no excuse for it other than your own laziness and incompetence.”

 

SPAIN, GERMANY, RUSSIA

Cursive is accounted for in Spain, Germany, and Russia, part of the Eurasian continent.

 

FINLAND

In lieu of cursive, schools in Finland, are focusing on teaching keyboarding.

 

NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Many of these countries never teach printing in their schools.

Instead, five-year-olds begin writing with cursive.

Very interesting!

 

HOW ABOUT AUSTRALIA?

The Land Down Under still appears to consistently teach cursive.

Their script, like the UK’s, is more of a semi-joined style of writing.

Here’s what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say:

“Based on the Australian national curriculum standards for English,

the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) for handwriting specify that by year three students should:

“Write using joined letters that are clearly formed and consistent in size”.

By the time they reach secondary school, they should possess “a personal handwriting style

that is legible, fluent and automatic and supports writing for extended periods”.

 

WHAT ABOUT JAPAN?

Japan’s school system puts teaching the English language as a priority over cursive.

 

WHAT’S THE SCOOP IN SOUTH AFRICA?

According to Bunty McDougall, occupational therapist and the Happy Hand Writer,

cursive is still a part of the South African curriculum (CAPS).

Bunty goes on to say that teaching cursive in South Africa seems to be

“pretty much a free for all.

It is left up to the individual schools to decide whether or not to include it.”

 

WHAT ABOUT SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA?

Most Latin-based language countries write in cursive.

Why? They value it! (That almost brought me to tears!)

Cursive writing in South and Central America is called “caligrafia.”

The children there are taught to write it fluently.

Why? They value it!

My beautiful Brazilian friend, who’s 28 years old, shares her story

of what it was like coming to the United States as a young student.

She had been taught caligrafia and taught to value it.

Her classmates here did not know cursive.

To be “liked by her peers,” Vikki resorted to printing.

As she grew older, she returned to cursive because it was faster and easier for her and…she loved its beauty!

She had learned to value it!

 

WRAP UP & TAKEAWAY

Wow! What a journey! Welcome back!

Hope you enjoyed the trip around the globe with me.

Here’s the takeaway from our travels:

Much of the World is still focused on cursive writing, with some areas teaching it inconsistently.

The influx of keyboarding and lack of time to teach cursive, is hurting its progress.

Many countries, particularly those in South & Central America, VALUE cursive and teach their children to do the same.

 

BACK TO THE U.S.A.

We have young adults in here in the United States, who don’t know how to read and write cursive.

What disservice to them are we creating by not consistently teaching it?

Certainly, putting an “X,” to sign your name does not show much class (as the UKers put it) or educational standing.

Yes…technology has its place…

but what are we truly compromising as we give it priority in so many educational settings?

Where is our VALUE for writing in cursive…in our own style…with our unique signature?

A cellphone certainly doesn’t show one’s individuality!

Hmmm…food for thought!

I am keeping my eyes open for new research coming in, and will keep you posted!

Until next time…practice your cursive.

Your brain loves it!

Sunny thoughts!