The Crosby Chronicles: Print on the dotted line

Have you seen that the state of Indiana will no longer teach children how to write in cursive? The reasoning behind it is that young people text so much today that time should be spent on sharpening their typing skills rather than their handwriting ones.

That logic is akin to telling English teachers it’s okay for kids to use abbreviations all the time such as “lol” in their formal writing because they already do that a lot.

The main question I have is this: who is going to teach these kids how to put their signature on important documents such as a driver’s license, job application, wedding certificate, or tax form? Will printing become the new cursive? Or will a simple “X” suffice? And what will happen to the occupation of handwriting experts?

Let’s hope California doesn’t follow suit.

Brian Crosby is a teacher at Hoover High School and the author of Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher. He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.