Cutting Cursive Out of the Curriculumby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 02 Sep 2009 10:39 PM When was the last time your third grader presented you with a handwritten note that featured curved and fancy looped cursive letters? If the closest thing you have are typed letters from your youngster featuring Freestyle Script or Magneto font, you aren't alone. According to a recent survey, cursive writing lessons are getting cut from the curriculum at a large number of grade schools across the country. In fact, parents whose children attend a suburban Indianapolis elementary school recently received a letter from administrators informing them that third-graders can expect a scaled-down cursive lesson this year, in an effort to give students more time to hone their keyboarding skills. The letter detailed the school's new plan to cut instructional time previously dedicated to cursive writing, so students can master computer keyboarding. "It is clear to us that cursive is becoming more obsolete," noted the school district's director of communications. "We are hearing equal amounts of praise and criticism on this decision, which we fully expected." As part of the revamped cursive training, kids will be taught how to write their names in script and be schooled on how to read cursive writing--that's it. "With all the other subjects we must teach, we just don't have the time to spend a lot of effort on cursive," school administrators told local news reporters. So why are script lessons getting scaled back in a growing number of elementary schools? Teachers say blame it on the rise of the Internet. What's more, penmanship is not included on most standardized state assessment tests. The push to ensure students are computer literate, and the fact that cursive writing is now considered more of an art than a basic tool to communicate, are just two reasons why U.S. schools are slowly moving away from script lessons. School administrators in Indianapolis say when it comes down to it educators need to teach kids how to write efficiently. "Now, there's more emphasis on process and content and less emphasis on form," noted an Indianapolis elementary school teacher. How would you react if you discovered your child was not being taught how to write in cursive? Related Articles: What Annoys You the Most About Back-to-School? Does Your Preschooler Use a Backpack? Do You Feel Obligated to Buy School Pictures? Does Your Child Ride the Bus to School? Back-to-School Supplies: It's All About the Bag Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanteducation tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Discuss this article
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