Cursive Writing is still a relevant skill in the digital age

Besides making your handwriting looking elegant, Cursive Writing can offers cognitive and emotional benefits. Here are tips and techniques to master the art of cursive writing.

Benefits of Cursive

The use of handwriting, in general, began to deteriorate from the 1980s as computers became commonplace and typing took precedence over beautiful handwriting.

A few years later, cursive writing took a backseat and was eliminated from most schools. There are many who skipped learning cursive writing as it was not compulsory.

However, there are many schools that have now introduced cursive writing. Many educators want schools to revive cursive writing.

Cursive writing is an art that takes time to master. However, it offers several benefits. Clean and attractive cursive writing not only makes your answer sheet look good, but it also has mental, social, physical, and practical benefits too.

More Benefits

• Cursive is faster, more efficient and offers students a life skill that is valued in many careers.
• If done well, it makes your writing look beautiful
• It can make you write faster. It increases fluidity, and continuity in writing.
• It instills self-discipline
• It improves hand-eye coordination.
• Regular practice can stimulate your mental effectiveness.
• It can help children with reading and learning disabilities like dyslexia; it can act as a writing therapy for such kids and can build confidence in them.
• Being able to write in cursive also means you will be able to have a nice signature, though there is no rule that says signatures must be in cursive

Parents Want Kids to Learn Cursive 

Despite the several benefits, most schools have been reluctant to introduce cursive writing in the curriculum. This is because, in recent years, schools have been devoting more time to social and emotional learning, coding, financial literacy, and free play. Many schools do not want to burden teachers with one more task.

However, considering the benefits, and the need to keep kids busy in worthwhile activities after school hours, a lot of parents have decided to take matters in their own hands.

Many students are now learning cursive writing through calligraphy classes/clubs.

The New York Times reported on a 10-year-old who won a national competition for his cursive writing, after being self-taught from a workbook rather than at school.

So while all kids are eventually going to learn computers, make sure they also learn cursive while they are in school.

Most schools in India abandoning cursive in favour of clean writing

In India, with the exception of few traditional institutions, most have stopped insisting on cursive writing. Here are the top reasons:

• Most public schools, for instance, would rather focus on teaching their students better communication skills.
• Some teachers feel that introduction of tablets in high school will further reduce the importance of cursive skills.
• Some teachers feel that print writing helps children relate what they read in their textbooks to what the teacher writes on the blackboard.
• Some schools feel that its difficult to learn cursive writing at a young age, and Kids should learn to write without the pressure of rules.

However, there is a fear that in the age of emails and texts, handwriting finesse will take a beating and SMS shorthand will find its way into term papers. In addition, experts have reported how handwriting training helps children develop better hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and other brain and memory functions. A few schools still ask for good penmanship from their students.

How to Improve Cursive Writing

If your child is around 6 years old, you can help them lean and improve their cursive writing.

Here are some tips to to help your child improve their cursive writing

Master the Basics: Provide students with a good foundation in basic letter shapes and strokes used in handwriting. It is important to practice writing individual letters in cursive before moving on to words and sentences.

Here’s a chart that shows how to write the letters (capital as well as small) in cursive.

Use Proper Grip and Posture: Students should learn to hold the pen or pencil correctly, using the tripod grip (thumb, index, and middle fingers) and maintain a good posture while writing.

Practice: Your child need to practice regularly to improving cursive writing skills. Encourage them to practice writing letters, words, and sentences regularly. You can use handwriting worksheets and tracing exercises, or even make them copy passages from a book.

Focus on Consistency: Encourage students to write without lifting the pencil and to maintain a steady flow of movement. It is very important that the letters are consistent in size and shape.

Use Multi-Sensory Techniques: You can even make your child practice on sand; let them tracing letters in sand in order to reinforce letter formation.

Positive Feedback: Motivate the child to continue practicing and praise their efforts. This will help them improve their cursive writing skills even further.

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