Don’t Tell Me That We’re Trying To Make Cursive Mandatory in Idaho

When I read this post this morning that said Representative  Linden Bateman of Idaho Falls wants to bring back cursive, I thought it was a joke. As I read the argument that teaching cursive promotes manual dexterity and creativity, I quickly realized that the suggestion was very serious.  And also a very bad idea.

In an effort to show you why we shouldn't be considering mandatory cursive as part of our curriculum  I have submitted this evidence of my handwriting.

When I was a kid, I had perfectly legible handwriting.  In fact, it was described as "nice" by some of my teachers.  Do you notice how terrible my handwriting is now?  I promise that the sample you see here is not me intentionally writing poorly to prove a point.  It took some time and effort to try to make it as legible as possible.  The fact is, it has been so long since I've hand written anything, I've all but lost the ability to write cursive legibly.

Why has it been so long?  Life no longer requires that I write with a pen.  Aside from jotting quick notes on a pad, I hardly ever touch a pen unless I'm signing a check.  And that doesn't happen very often anymore either.

Seriously.  When's the last time you've interviewed for a job and had your employer ask, "How's your cursive?"

I'm not saying that we shouldn't know how to communicate in a written language, I'm simply stating that the tools that we write with have changed.

Should we really waste time and money teaching something that's no longer needed?