INDIANAPOLIS — Since 2010, cursive writing hasn’t been required in public schools. Republican Senator Jean Leising has filed legislation for 13 years to make it a required curriculum for Hoosier students to learn.
She says most private schools are teaching it, while the majority of public schools aren’t. She says this can create a disparity between students.
“We now have kids graduating from college that can’t even read cursive writing,” Senator Leising said. “They don't have a signature. I'm not sure what they're going to do when they become legislators, because we still must sign our name for real quite often.”
While it’s not required to be taught in public schools, districts like Hamilton Southeastern still teach it.
"There are some benefits when it comes to executive functioning and neuro pathways and motor pathways and our teachers really truly see that,” Danielle Fetters Thompson. the Executive Director of Elementary Education at Hamilton Southeastern Schools. said.
Cursive can also help kids with several other life skills.
"When we are talking about executive functioning — that helps with organization, working memory, sustained attention,” Fetters Thompson said. “So, then you will see that in all aspects of not only academics, but their life. “
Helping with life skills is something Senator Leising says is a big motivation for her to continuing filing the legislation. She says constituents have told her they have had to let employees go because they weren’t able to read cursive writing.
Julia Fish Thompson is a calligrapher. She says cursive handwriting, is a foundation for the artform.
"You learned how to make the loops even and how to make things sit on the base line and you know, make the forms legible and even,” Fish Thompson said. “That branches into calligraphy. You want to be able to have a certain amount of control with your hand to be able to produce those forms. "
Fish Thompson is a professional calligrapher and uses her talent to engrave and make art for people regularly. She is also the vice president of the Calligraphy Guild of Indiana. She says they don't have many young people who take part in the practice. But she says teaching cursive is important for continuing not only the legacy of the craft, but also remembering history.
"We've got so much historically that ties us to writing and writing is so important in our culture in everything that we do in every culture," Fish Thompson said.
As for education at Hamilton Southeastern, cursive writing isn't going anywhere in their curriculum.
"That's the most exciting thing for those second graders is to learn to write their first and last name in cursive,” Fetters Thompson said. “So, I think that's still very important regardless of how digitized our society has gotten.”
The National Education Associationreports that as of February 2022, 21 states required cursive to be taught as part of the public school curriculum. The common core state standards dropped the requirement in 2010.
Senator Leising says the Indiana Senate has approved the bill multiple times, but it has never passed out of the House.Senate bill 72 is currently waiting for a hearing in a Senate Education Committee.
