Why bother teaching cursive handwriting?

In the fall of 2014, a piece of news caused quite a stir in the education community. One of the societies most renowned for its quality educational environment, Finland, was going to eliminate the teaching of cursive handwriting from the start of the 2016 school year to focus on the computer keyboard. Needless to say, the news hit like a bomb. Many American states (45 out of 50) have already gone down this road, so if Finland follows suit...

There was an immediate outcry in defense of the importance of learning cursive handwriting, also known as "tied letters". Except that this news was false... or rather mistranslated by the BBC journalist.

In reality, the Finnish system requires children to learn scripte calligraphy (detached letters). But contrary to rumors, little Finns will continue to use pencils for years to come. And while this could be a story about the danger of misinformation spreading at the speed of light on the Net, or about the problem of bad translations, let's stay on the subject of learning cursive letters.

The benefits of handwriting

Because this little scandal has highlighted an important question: in an era where computers, tablets and smartphones are becoming the main sources of writing, why continue to learn cursive letters? It's a question that's clearly on the agenda, because while the Finnish story has been greatly exaggerated, the USA is really getting rid of the teaching of traditional calligraphy. So, is cursive writing dying? Not really.

Dexterity, fine motor skills, better control

In fact, the many experts interviewed point to beneficial effects on the brains of children who learn cursive handwriting. Linguists and neuroscientists have noted the importance of this learning process for the acquisition of fine motor skills in the youngest children. This orthopedagogue also wonders whether learning a language solely from the keyboard could totally alter the structuring of the growing brain.

Handwriting uses the child's dominant hemisphere, but typing requires both parts of the brain to work together. Yet specialists have no idea what impact this new arrangement would have on grey matter. And then there's this orthopedagogue's point: isn't going all-in on the keyboard penalizing poorer schools that can't afford state-of-the-art computer hardware?

This Quebec researcher points out that studies have shown that children who have learned cursive rather than scribal handwriting make fewer syntax and spelling mistakes. Nevertheless, regardless of the method chosen, she believes that only one form of teaching should be favored, not a mixture of two. She denounces, for example, the Quebec education system which, in the first year of primary school, teaches children to write in detached letters and in attached letters the following year. All to confuse them, in her opinion.

Cursive and digital can go hand in hand

So there was a massive response in favor of teaching cursive or, at least, handwritten writing. But were there any voices who took advantage of this news to rejoice at the end of this apprenticeship? Very few, particularly in France, where there is a clear consensus. However, Yann Leroux, a psychologist who has caused quite a stir given his very positive stance in favor of video games in children's lives, brought a divergent point of view.

It's not a clear-cut opinion against cursive writing. On the contrary, the psychologist recognizes some of the benefits of learning to write, but questions the fact that no one doubts the relevance of handwriting. For example, few people talk about "bad handwriting". Indeed, what happens to those children who write badly, those humiliated by their poor penmanship or who simply can't read their own handwriting? Loss of self-esteem and revision problems are part of the lot of these young people, he believes. And digital writing is much easier to change and share. However, the psychologist rightly recognizes that manuscripts survive the test of time better, and that constantly altered texts don't stop people thinking.

In any case, who said that digital technology was necessarily the enemy of cursive writing? In fact, there's an Android and Apple app, and another, that are expressly designed for children to practice their letter repeatedly. A script version is also available.

Illustration: Scisetti Alfio, shutterstock

References

Helloin, Christel. "Fin De L'écriture Cursive à L'école En Finlande? Des Effets Négatifs Sur Le Cerveau." Le Plus. Last updated: November 29, 2014. http://leplus.nouvelobs.com/contribution/1282710-fin-de-l-ecriture-manuscrite-a-l-ecole-en-finlande-des-effets-negatifs-sur-le-cerveau.html.

"J'écris En Cursive : Un Excellent Outil Pour Apprendre à écrire - Apple Et Android." La Souris Grise. Last updated: January 22, 2015. http://www.souris-grise.fr/jecris-en-cursive-un-excellent-outil-pour-apprendre-a-ecrire-sur-ipad/.

Leduc, Louise. "Abandon cursive writing: to be avoided according to a researcher ." La Presse+. Last updated: December 22, 2014. https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/education/201412/21/01-4830214-abandon-de-lecriture-cursive-a-eviter-selon-une-chercheuse.php

Leroux, Yann. "Psychologik: C'est La Fin De L'écriture Cursive Et C'est Une Bonne Nouvelle." Psychologik. Last updated November 27, 2014. http://psychologik.blogspot.ca/2014/11/cest-la-fin-de-lecriture-cursive-et.html.

"Finnish children will indeed continue to write by hand..." RTBF. Last updated: December 2, 2014. http://www.rtbf.be/info/societe/detail_les-enfants-finlandais-continueront-a-ecrire-a-la-main-tordons-le-cou-a-un-canard?id=8496678.

Lombard, Marie-Amélie. "Linguist Alain Bentolila S'élève Contre La Fin De L'écriture Manuelle." Le Figaro. Last updated November 26, 2014. http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2014/11/26/01016-20141126ARTFIG00281-le-linguiste-alain-bentolila-s-eleve-contre-la-fin-de-l-ecriture-manuelle.php.

"L'écriture Cursive Est-elle En Train De Mourir?" Le Point.fr. Last updated: January 23, 2015. http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/l-ecriture-cursive-est-elle-en-train-de-mourir-15-12-2014-1889743_23.php.