A Northwest Arkansas legislator’s bill has made cursive writing a hot topic of this year’s legislative session.
State Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, proposed House Bill 1044, which would ensure all public school students learn cursive by the end of the third grade starting next school year.
The House of Representatives approved Hendren’s bill on Thursday by a 66-21 vote. It now awaits the Senate’s consideration.
Hendren said his son, state Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette, will take the lead on the bill in the Senate.
Most states, including Arkansas, have adopted the set of education standards known as Common Core. Cursive isn’t mandated under Common Core, a sore spot for many who cherish what traditionally has been a staple of elementary education. Prior to Common Core standards, cursive instruction was required in Arkansas schools.
Some people, however, view cursive writing as antiquated and believe class time could be better spent on other topics. Some also are bothered by the idea of the state imposing more mandates on schools.
Hendren said he was inspired to propose House Bill 1044 after learning his eighthgrade granddaughter couldn’t read or write in cursive.
That concerned him, in part because some of the great documents from history, such as the U.S. Constitution, are written in cursive. He said some have argued teachers could simply “translate” those documents for their students, he said.
“That’s not the America I want,” he said. He also worries about children not being able to sign their names. “Most people I’ve talked to have seen this as a wise step,” Hendren said.
If his bill becomes law, schools wouldn’t endure any additional costs because cursive would be taught in existing classes, Hendren said.
Justin Minkel, a firstgrade teacher at Springdale’s Jones Elementary School and the 2007 Arkansas teacher of the year, believes Hendren’s bill is a form of micromanaging.
“And then secondly, I just think given how much is changing technologically in terms of the economy and what kids are going to need to succeed, we just don’t have the time to devote to some of these old-school skills,” Minkel said.
Minkel used to teach third grade and has been required to teach cursive in the past. He acknowledged some of the arguments in favor of teaching cursive, but they don’t sway him. Students need to be learning how to learn new things, how to think critically and how to collaborate, he said.
State Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, is one legislator who voted against Hendren’s bill on Thursday. He received “maybe a dozen or two dozen” emails from parents and teachers about it, none of whom liked the bill, he said.
“I haven’t written in cursive since junior high. And I send out handwritten notes on a regular basis,” Leding said. “The fact I don’t write in cursive certainly hasn’t slowed me down.”
Leding poked fun at the bill on Twitter last week, comparing the teaching of cursive to teaching kids how to churn butter and how to properly fit a powdered wig.
Leding said he doesn’t oppose cursive; he just doesn’t believe the state should mandate it.
Several other states, however, already have enacted the kind of law Arkansas is considering. Tennessee did it last year. North Carolina did it in 2013.
Local educators have mixed opinions on House Bill 1044.
The Bentonville School District provides cursive instruction during the second semester of third grade, said Tamara Gibson, executive director of elementary and middle school instruction. The district plans to continue that practice.
“As with all things regarding curriculum and instruction, it would seem to make sense for any directive/ mandate to come from our Department of Education,” Gibson wrote in an email. “Having said that, it’s always wise to seek input from educators throughout the state on issues regarding student learning. Bentonville Public Schools would certainly have an interest in being at the table for a discussion on cursive writing.”
Michael Poore, in his most recent weekly written report to School Board members, stated he believes it’s a matter that should be decided by local school districts.
Kathy Morledge, the Springdale School District’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for elementary and middle schools, said Springdale teaches cursive in either the second semester of second grade or first semester of third grade. The individual schools decide exactly when to teach it based on how developmentally ready their students are, she said.
Morledge noted there’s research showing learning cursive has important effects on the brain.
Above all, however, Morledge wants students to be able to write legibly.
“In communication, if people can’t interpret what you’ve written or what you’re saying, you’re not communicating,” Morledge said.
Cursive is part of the curriculum in Rogers for second and third grade. The district still considers it an important communication skill, said Ashley Siwiec, district communications director.
In Fayetteville, the decision of whether to teach cursive is left up to each elementary school, said Rhonda Moore, principal of Root Elementary.
“We do give our kids exposure to cursive, because I think it’s always important for kids to have a lot of tools in their toolbox,” Moore said. “I think they need to know how to read it, and I think they need some practice utilizing it.”
But that doesn’t mean students are drilled on their penmanship or forced to practice making each letter repeatedly, she said. The approach to cursive is a little more casual.
“It’s not like it was back in the day,” Moore said.
Benefits of writing
Karin James, an associate professor at the University of Indiana, led a 2012 study into the effects of handwriting on brain development in pre-literate children. In the study, 5-year-old children who were not yet able to read or write were shown a letter or shape and asked to reproduce it either by tracing, typing or printing it. When shown images of these letters again while undergoing an MRI scan, their brain activity differed in an important way for letters they’d been asked to draw compared to those they had typed or traced. James concluded handwriting “therefore may facilitate reading acquisition in young children,” according to an abstract of the study, published in Trends in Neuroscience and Education.
Source: Staff Report
Dave Perozek can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADaveP.