A Bill Has Been Passed That Asks Schools To Start Teaching Cursive Writing

Aug 24, 2018

Not long ago, writing in cursive was easy, fast and fun. In addition to writing in print, you also learned how to write the same words in strokes. Unfortunately, most kids today use their thumbs or their index finger to write or flip pages on their phones.

Cursive writing also teaches children to sign their name and gives them the ability to discern legal documents. On Jun 20, 2018, the Ohio House passed a bill declaring that public schools must offer cursive handwriting as one of their curriculums. This bill (passed with "87 for" and "4 against") follows similar bills passed in other states like Indiana and New York. Per the Ohio House, "The state board of education shall adopt a model curriculum for instruction in cursive handwriting in grades kindergarten through five to ensure that students develop the ability to print letters and words legibly by grade three and to create readable documents using legible cursive handwriting by the end of grade five”.

Unfortunately, the bill does not mandate the teaching of cursive writing. The bill only requires that elementary schools implement cursive writing as an elective.

You can decide whether you want to enroll your kids or not.

However, excitement over the passing of this bill was shared by State Representative Andrew Brenner who expressed his delight by stating, “Cursive writing is so much more than just learning how to sign your name to a check. For example, studies have shown that learning how to write in cursive helps the student learn how to spell and read, especially children with dyslexia”.

Brenner continued, “I’m honored that my colleagues agree that cursive is an important and invaluable skill on multiple levels and should be made available to Ohio’s students.” While the bill awaits to be seen by Governor John Kasich, you should also remember that our U.S Constitution was written neatly in cursive by our Forefathers. It would be sad if future generations could not read what it said.

Tell your friends cursive writing is back! Do you think it's worth our children's time to learn cursive writing in the age of technology? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments!