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Cursive handwriting: Should it still be taught in school?

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Cursive handwriting – when is the last time you used it to write something other than your signature? With so much of our lives online now, the occasions to get out the pen and paper are getting fewer and fewer. And even when we do, do we need to write in connected letters?

That’s under debate right now as some states work to ensure cursive is still taught in the classroom. Some of the 45 states that have adopted the Common Core – a set of K-12 public school course offerings that don’t include penmanship classes – want to make sure cursive is still a required course.

Arguments for keeping cursive include its effect on our brains and creativity and its ability to help us read historical documents.

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“The Constitution of the United States is written in cursive. Think about that,” Linden Bateman, an Idaho state representatives who’s fighting to keep cursive, told the Associated Press.

But others say the evidence that cursive helps our brain function isn’t solid, and that it’s more important for today’s students to learn keyboard and computer skills.

“When society adds new skills and new knowledge to the list of things public schools teach, some other items have to come off the list,” the Los Angeles Times editorial board argued in September.

What do you think – is cursive a lost art that we can leave behind, or is it something vital for our kids to learn? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or tweet me @lauraelizdavis.

laura.davis@latimes.com

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