Cursive writing is fast becoming a lost art. It is no longer
taught, or given very little time in the public school system. In fact, all
forms of handwriting are receiving less and less instruction in favor of
teaching keyboarding skills. Historically, the written form of English and many
other languages originated with cursive script. Print arose as a simplified,
abbreviated form of writing after the printing press was invented to allow for
easy, mass produced text to be manufactured and distributed. With the advent of
word processing on computers, both print and cursive forms are available.
However, print is the dominant form for writing, whether by hand or
electronically, today.
In the Montessori community, cursive writing is still a valued
skill. Most Montessori teachers teach cursive writing from the very beginning
for both reading and writing. Cursive writing is easier on the muscles of the
hand, with continuous and flowing movement, and a consistent way to form the
letters. Each lower case letter starts in the lower left hand corner and ends
in the lower right hand corner, flowing left to right in the same direction as
reading. Print letters lack this consistency. Further, each letter in cursive is
unique with no mirror images, making it easier for dyslexic people to
distinguish between “b” and “d”, for example.
Current developments in neuroscience support the development of all
handwriting skills. The finger movements required for handwriting activate
large areas of the brain involved in thinking, memory and language. Handwriting
is closely tied to not only learning fine motor skills but in learning the
shapes of letters. This is why in Montessori classrooms young children learn a
new letter by tracing it with their index finger, mimicking the motion of
writing long before they are ready to put pencil to paper. Typing letters on a
keyboard, on the other hand, does not provide the same stimulus to learning letters
the way writing does.
Besides improving the
recognition and recall of letters, handwriting also contributes to the
development of ideas while writing compositions. Brain scans have shown
that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in
thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and
managing information. One recent study by Virginia Berninger, a professor of
educational psychology at the University of Washington demonstrated that elementary
school children wrote more words, wrote them faster, and expressed more diverse
ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.
Handwriting is not a
skill which can be developed overnight. It requires practice. Small daily
handwriting practice sessions could dramatically improve your child’s comfort
and ability to write. Children in Montessori classrooms often enjoy copying
poems, jokes or small stories. Practicing with your child could not only
improve both of your handwriting but provide a calming, meditative practice
that you can share together. Interestingly, technology has now come to the
aid of handwriting improvement with apps on devices like the iPad and
smartphones. So just write it!
Marla Nargundkar is an
AMI Montessori Guide at Tree of Life Montessori School in Atlanta, GA
