Why schools might be making a big mis- take eliminating handwriting and cursive from their curriculum

Dadrienne Thompson | Contributing Writer

 

Remember those tissue-paper thin pieces of paper with the blue dashed lines used to teach students how to write their letters? Imagine elementary school without them.  Welcome to
 2014. While not all schools have forsaken teaching the lost art, the reality is handwriting is used less and taught less in school curriculums. More often, students prefer to type because of accuracy, efficiency and just plain convenience. Face it, listening to a professor and typing the words is more accurate than trying to write every little thing down and sometimes even abbreviations get messy. Today laptops and tablets are more accessible and schools are adapting to using these devices in the classroom, which pushes the use of technology in schools rather than old-fashioned written work.

Dr. Nancy Brashear, a professor in the English Department at APU, believes in the importance of learning handwriting. As a California credentialed teacher and reading specialist, her teaching has given her firsthand accounts of the process and future skills that handwriting provides.

“Technology certainly has its place in today’s society and education, and students need to learn those skills, too, but not as a substitute for learning to handwrite,” Brashear said.

According to an online article by Reading Rockets, “The Importance of Teaching Handwriting, ” handwriting has been neglected in the every- day curriculum of primary grades but might be returning. Although typing makes for an easier experience in the classroom, especially in the college setting, students benefit from handwriting. Handwriting affects students academically through test taking, speed of taking notes and classroom work. Students with disabilities also benefit from handwritten work by means of focus.

Handwriting is assessed by legibility, speed and execution. There are different methods to teaching hand- writing and each one requires practice and patience. Dr. Louis Spear-Swelling, the author of “The Importance of Teaching Handwriting,” gives different methods for parents and teachers to use for improving handwriting in children.

She writes, “Children should learn a highly consistent way to form a given letter every time they write it.”

She continues to explain specific letters to practice with and how to execute this practice. She also illuminates the idea of a child gaining better focus when his or her writing is legible. A simple practice like this one mentioned shows handwriting in a raw form. A student begins in third or fourth grade with both manuscript or print and cursive writing. What happens after this transition? Does the introduction of technology and computer programs interfere with this learning?

According to Brashear, “hand- writing allows students to be more thoughtful and to pay closer attention to the content at hand than does the use of technology. ” She also said children should learn both handwriting and technology. Being adaptable to change is an important trait.

Children gain access to computers at a young age in the classroom. In a study done by the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, children from ages 6 to 11 were tested for their speed of writing or typing and their ability to write or type fluently. The result of the study showed that younger children wrote at a slower pace when typing at a keyboard than when writing. Their findings stated that, “this should not imply that keyboards are inherently disruptive of writing. But where this writing tool is to be encouraged, its optimal use may be the one where the visual-manual coordinations are smoothly managed. ”

The result of the study concludes with an idea for a touch keyboard, which allows minimal monitoring of the hands and allows the eyes to “roam free. ” This keyboard operates on the idea that memory is associated with the interactions of a person’s eyes and hands. However, it doesn’t take technology to connect the brain and motor skills.

Handwriting, in fact, is connected to the brain. So much so, it is considered a science. “The Science of Handwriting” gives a brief overview of several studies done to explain how people interact differently when using pen and paper over typing. Brandon Keim, the author of the “The Science of Handwriting” from the The Scientific American, explains the study done by the neurologist Karin James. James examined the brain activity of different people in two different experiments in 2008 and 2010. James explains that a motor activity , that was expected to interact, responds when letters or letter-like shapes are observed. When the participants were shown how to write these shapes, visual areas were heightened as well, showing “hands help to see.” Simply put, science sup- ports the idea that the motor skills involved in writing trigger memory and brain activity.

Writing is visual but also includes the movement of the hand which helps the brain to remember what was writ- ten. Writing down tasks such as lists for grocery shopping, or writing down assignments for homework are easily remembered when written down on paper than when typed on a comput- er or phone (since there are apps for that too). Handwriting not only helps in academics but also exercises one’ s creative abilities. According to Keim, more creativity is shown when writing than when typing because there is not as much restriction such as, typing the right letters or the correct format.

Revisions are easier to make when handwritten because there is more freedom when brainstorming and making changes. Handwriting seems to work best with our minds.

“The act of writing (physically) slows down the mind so that one can consider thoughts in a way that busy life doesn’t allow,” Brashear said.

Although handwriting may be more time consuming, it gives the person the opportunity to reflect on what is written. They have the hands-on experience of what was said in a classroom or what was in their mind. Dr. Brashear believes technology has its place as well and requires skills that should also be acquired, but handwriting should not be forgotten altogether.

Handwriting might be returning to school curriculums, but technology is becoming the new outlet for learning. For example ABCmouse.com is a website for young children that teaches them how to read and write through educational games.

The benefits to handwriting assignments are positive to the brain. Not all assignments must be handwritten, but it does help to occasionally put down the tablet and let the ideas flow on paper instead of a screen. Give the fingers a rest and let the pen or pencil work some magic, or maybe experiment on what method helps material stick to the your brain. Computers or other devices are not bad or disruptive to learning, but sometimes a break is necessary.