Editor, The News:
Re: Should handwriting still be taught? (Along the Fraser, April 11).
Jack Emberly’s article turned out to be an interesting topic of discussion in our language arts class. I would like to share some of my students’ opinions.
“Personally, I think that eliminating cursive from the school curriculum is ridiculous. So many people grew up writing cursive because that’s what they were taught in school. I write all of my work using cursive because it is efficient and looks much better than printing. I also believe it is a form of art – everybody has a different style of writing that reflects themselves, and once you master handwriting, it’s hard to go back to printing. I believe that everyone should learn handwriting because it is a skill you use in everyday life. You use cursive in signatures, writing cards, and so many other things.”
Another student states: “If they eliminate cursive writing, they could possibly have the right to eliminate printing, too. We have put a lot of effort learning how to handwrite, it has been around for generations. Print/handwrite is how we were taught to understand/comprehend and read ... ”
Students in our class had numerous questions. For example: “What if there is an old letter that contained important information? How would the people of the future be able to read the letter? Why would they even want to get rid of cursive writing in the first place? Why is cursive writing no longer necessary? Writing has been around for a long time and hasn’t made any problems, so why get rid of it?”
Personally, I agree with my students and Jack Emberly’s statement: “Cursive writing will always be useful.”
Zdena Novy, Grade 6/7 teacher
Whonnock elementary