Third grader Cassidy Dolnik has learned a fun way to practice her cursive skills, writing letters with a quill (feather) and ink (watercolor). JESSI DOLNIK
Children these days are experts at texting, and many are more proficient at using a computer than a pencil.
However, many kids, including my own who are now teenagers, didn’t get much – if any – cursive instruction in elementary school. I think they each might have had a few days of practice, but obviously not enough to make it stick.
I have since taught them how to at least sign their names, but they still have trouble reading birthday cards from their grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Some teachers, therapists and parents think writing in cursive is still a valuable skill, one that might soon be a lost art form.
“I feel it is important for this generation of children to learn cursive because if it gets left behind, I think it will be more and more difficult to bring back,” teacher Julieann Swann said.
Swann teaches fifth-grade Chinese Immersion at Hilton Head Island Elementary School and has always advocated for cursive writing in school. She said the skill is especially important for younger children to learn when they are learning stroke development.
Unfortunately, Swann said teachers often don’t have much time to teach cursive after they get through the other English Language Arts requirements of reading, writing, spelling and grammar. Another challenge is the fact that a single class can include students at varying levels of literacy, which means teachers spend extra time working with the struggling students.
“When teachers are faced with limited time, we need to simultaneously determine what the best needs for each child are, as well as the class as a whole,” Swann said. “Often, cursive writing is
