By Dave Bailey, PPS Editor
Break out the quill pens! It’s time to discuss cursive penmanship. Why does it exist? Why do we learn it? In today’s high-tech world, what good is cursive writing?
The origin story: From Rome to D’Nealian
When did cursive writing start? According to Jennie Cohen on history.com, the first known cursive script was developed by the ancient Romans for transactions and correspondence. By the 5th century CE early versions of lowercase letters were developed, looking in many ways like modern cursive. In the 8th century, an English monk developed a form of cursive called Carolingian miniscule, which added word separation and punctuation to the lowercase letters used in the earlier Roman script.
Over time, a type of cursive called italic was created and became a status symbol, so much so that, by the 1700s, penmanship schools were dotted throughout Europe to help people write professional letters.
Cursive writing was taught in U.S. public schools throughout the 20th century, although by the 1980s it was taking a back seat to printing and typing. Currently, per Sharon Linde on Study.com, the type of cursive taught in schools is D’Nealian style (written at a slight slant) or Zaner-Bloser (written straight up and down). Even though it has lost much of its importance, the National Association of State Boards of Education was still in favor of teaching cursive in schools as of 2012.
So why do we still need cursive writing?
One place where cursive writing is important is in banking and credit security. If you’ve ever used a credit card at a retail store, restaurant, or any place that takes credit cards, you probably had to sign your name on a receipt or at the pin pad. For most people that means using cursive handwriting, and it is often the only time when they practice the cursive handwriting that made second and third grade so darn difficult. A cursive signature can also be used as an electronic signature on an online document or webpage, often in combination with a digital signature, which is an encryption technique that authenticates a message or digital document.
Many people use cursive writing on a notepad to keep notes at meetings, classes, or conferences instead of adding a note on their laptop or phone. Studies have indicated a correlation between handwriting and cognitive development and information retention and writing notes instead of typing them helps people better retain information.
Other advantages are that it’s normally quicker than block printing, which helps with reading and spelling (people think of the word as a single unit when they write), and cursive writing helps with motor control.
Also, some people enjoy writing letters on paper for that personal touch between friends and family. Cursive writing also engages the creative process. One researcher found that students wrote longer compositions by hand and expressed more ideas than when using keyboards.
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of cursive, a good place to start is the article from the National Association of State Boards of Education mentioned earlier.