Cursive writing is fast disappearing from school curricula. Print and television news have reported on this trend, and as someone who learned to write with the Palmer Method, I was surprised. How will children sign their names on legal documents? Will they be puzzled if they receive a letter from Grandma in cursive?
In reality, children who have not learned this script cannot actually read it, and to them it looks more like scribbling than communication.
HAS Wall Street Journal The article, “The New Script for Teaching Handwriting Is No Script,” says that handwriting “goes the way of the pen.” Instead, students are learning to use the keyboard, a skill my generation calls typing. Many of us use a combination of print and cursive, and that makes our handwriting even more individual.
The Handwriting University International website reports the demise of this classic form of writing. Georgia is just one state that has removed handwriting from its curriculum. “Many students prefer computers or text messages to handwriting,” the website reports. But those who are in favor of this writing think that it is a special form of communication.
Expert Michelle Dresbold, author of Sex, Lies and Handwriting, considers this form of writing “brain writing.” Trained by the Secret Service, she testifies in court and has helped solve many criminal cases. HAS Pittsburgh Post Bulletin Michael A. Fuoco’s article gives us more information on handwriting analysis.
According to the article, Dresbold believes that the letter “I” is the most important in the alphabet and variations in how it is written reveal the person behind the pen. “Variations in Writing [the letter] they show an identity crisis,” Fuoco explains. Although appearances can be deceiving, Dresbold believes that handwriting never lies.
I looked up your book on Amazon and read the inside pages that were available. Dresbold believes that writing comes through the brain. “Reading people through their handwriting is a lot like reading body language,” she writes. Her book contains many writing samples that support Dresbold’s views and work.
In the future, electronically transmitted legal documents will likely not require a signature. The United States could become like Taiwan, where people don’t sign documents, but stamp them with an ink mark. Each crop mark is unique and represents that individual. Unfortunately, if your crop mark is stolen or you lose it, you’re in big trouble. Taiwanese newspapers often contain advertisements reporting lost or stolen crop marks.
I’m all for the keyboard and I think kids need to know it and know it well. Still, I think we are taking something away from children when we don’t require them to sign their name, their personality, in a form of script that has survived for centuries. Why should handwriting stay on the curriculum? Students will learn how to sign their signatures, read communications in cursive, and express their individuality.
Somehow a keyboard signature is not the same.
Copyright 2013 by Harriet Hodgson