Penmanship and cursive handwriting are still vital to education because it improves students’ fine motor skills, writing speed, retention of material learned, and self-discipline. Writing in cursive helps improve neural connections between the right and left sides of the brain and can create new neural pathways.

When I started teaching at Faith Christian School in 2022, there was one thing that I could not get over: the students’ handwriting. Wow! It was neater and more beautiful than any I had seen in my previous five years of teaching. I was completely in awe of how well the students formed the letters, spaced them out, and were able to create such neat pieces of work. When I moved into my position as the second-grade teacher, my awe of students’ handwriting just grew. This past year, I even got to teach my students cursive writing. It was not just a task that we could get around to if we had time, but it was a priority.

Cursive is on the Virginia Department of Education’s Standards of Learning for third grade in public schools, but it has been pushed to the back burner. This is because all testing that schools will have to complete is done on computers. It doesn’t matter to the accreditation department if students have beautiful or messy handwriting because when it comes to testing, they will simply be answering multiple-choice questions or typing in answers. This doesn’t just apply to end-of-the-year testing, but also weekly and monthly assessments that span across all subjects. When I taught in public school, I thought it was fun to teach cursive, but I knew it had to be the last priority compared to everything else. Students had to write so little in school, that by the time they reached third grade, I often didn’t know where to begin to improve their handwriting and make up for lost time. 

Penmanship and cursive handwriting are still vital to education, and thankfully classical Christian schools are still recognizing this truth. Cursive writing improves students’ fine motor skills, writing speed, retention of material learned, and self-discipline. Writing in cursive helps improve neural connections between the right and left sides of the brain and can literally create new neural pathways. When students learn to write in cursive, they will have an easier time reading cursive as well. Possibly one of my favorite benefits of learning cursive is that it takes time, focus, and repetition. Cursive is complex and takes years of practice. It is a skill that, once achieved, will increase confidence in students and their ability to succeed at a difficult task.

We want students to seek what is good, true, and beautiful in this world. When I taught my students cursive last year, I often would point out how beautiful they were writing their letters. This feels like art for the alphabet, I would often say, and they would just beam with joy. I thought this task might be daunting, but they truly came to love working on their cursive writing. You know that feeling when you receive a letter or card from a family member, often older than you, who has the most beautiful handwriting? It almost takes your breath away. It almost feels like a keepsake, a work of art. How amazing would it be if our students who live in this post-modern world would be able to have that effect on people as well, simply with their handwriting? So, parents, encourage and expect beautiful penmanship and cursive from your children. I truly think it is not a dying art, but one that exemplifies our goals here at Faith Christian School so clearly. May our children influence culture, instead of being influenced by it.

-Maria Pugh, Second Grade Teacher