Think Piece #6



For this week’s reading, one of the themes that stood out to me is that of handwriting. “There will continue to be many settings in which fluid, legible handwriting and correct spelling are essential” (p 179). I think the importance of handwriting has decreased over the years. Students today are so used to technology tools to help them write papers that they don’t realize they are missing out on an important aspect of writing.

Well developed penmanship used to be a requirement for professional work. Handwriting, mostly cursive, was once a large part of writing years ago. Now, it is a small part that is taught along with other aspects of ELA. People today, students and adults, do not write as much as we used to in the past. Less people write letters because of e-mails and fewer students write with a pen or pencil for school because of computers.

New York State still requires students to write handwritten essays for several standardized tests. If students do not get any practice of this during the year, they will not know what to expect on the day of the exam. Legible writing is a necessary and practical skill that students do not get enough practice of.  Poor handwriting can also help people form negative judgments about others. It may look like they do not care or didn’t take the time to put the effort in the writing.

There is controversy over the different types of handwriting and when they should be taught. There are millions of ways to form letters of the alphabet. A few questions raised are: “Should children be introduced to writing through a traditional manuscript alphabet and later bridged into cursive…? Should students begin with cursive to prevent the difficulties of learning a new way to write in later grades?” (p 195). I believe students should learn the traditional manuscript and then cursive, as most of us were. When students are in their first years of school, they are reading words in the traditional format, not cursive. Students would be confused because they would be taught to write one way but read letters that are formed differently. One of the few advantages of learning cursive first, in my opinion, is the fact the b and d in cursive will be less likely to be mixed up.

I know from experience that my two younger sisters have terrible handwriting. They are only 5 and 10 years younger than me, but this just shows how fast technology has advanced. I remember being told in elementary school that in middle school and high school teachers make you write only in cursive. The use of cursive was not to this extreme once I reached the higher grades. I sometimes found myself writing in cursive to take notes because it was faster and easier for me, but it wasn’t neater.

I have said on numerous occasions that I wish I had “teacher handwriting.” Since I grew out of writing in cursive in high school, my cursive is not as legible as I wish it to be. So many of my teachers have “pretty” and “flowy” handwriting and I am afraid when I have to write notes home to parents, it will look like a student wrote it (judgments!). I understand all people, including teachers, have their own style, I just have to accept mine. Writing on the board is also a problem for me! I really wish there was something I could do to learn how to write like a teacherJ. Practice makes perfect.