Cursive is a form of writing in which the letters in each word are written in a connected or flowing way. We were always told as students in elementary and middle school that being able to write and read cursive was very important. Why did some of us learn, it and why did some of us not? Why do some people know how to write and read cursive and some do not? Let us ask some students at THS to see their stance on this form of writing.
I personally remember loving the way cursive looked in elementary school. We were not learning how to write in cursive though, so I took matters into my own hands. Once I had learned how to write in cursive, I started to write my name on my papers in cursive. One day in second grade, my teacher told me and a friend to stop writing our names in cursive. We did not understand why since we thought it was important to learn this way of writing. When I was finally in third grade, our teacher gave us warm-up papers in which we were to trace letters in cursive. That was the only cursive that I had ever been taught in elementary, middle, and high school.
This way of writing is used to sign a signature on many things such as legal papers, checks, and letters. It is also used to write words faster when taking notes or when writing a lot of information. I personally use cursive on a daily basis when needing to write anything. Whether I learned to write it in second grade or a later grade, I would have needed to learn cursive at some point. “I think learning cursive is important especially for a signature, but it is very important to be able to read it too,” senior Savannah Bates said. Even if you can not write in cursive, it is important that you can read it in order to understand what things may say when written in this format.
“I can only write my signature in cursive. We never learned cursive in school, it was just used as a filler in my math class after an SOL,” Bates said. It seems that not many students were fully taught how to write in this format. “I never learned how to write in cursive, but I know the older people in my family can,” junior Abigail Browning said. No one can figure out why we never learned this, yet older people know how to fluently write and read in cursive. Most students agree that they should be teaching children how to write cursive in elementary school so that everyone can be on the same page when it comes to understanding this format.
Learning cursive can allow a chance to correct handwriting. For example, my handwriting in print is very hard to read, but in cursive my handwriting flows and looks neater. This form of writing can also be a challenge to us. It furthers motor skills by challenging students to connect letters. This allows us to improve our memorization skills. With the letters intertwined in a word, we see it as a whole rather than separate letters that make that whole. Meaning that when reading these words, they should be easier to read since they flow on paper.
Overall, cursive is important to us mentally and physically. Although most were not directly taught this subject, they agree that is a big part of our future and our focus. This form of writing gives students a chance to be a faster learner and diligent writer.
