Several US states are trying to prevent handwriting from going extinct as classrooms increasingly swap pen and paper for tablets and computers.
The US government removed the skill from the core curriculum in 2010 due to claims it was time-consuming and would not be useful in the age of technology, which meant schools could instead focus on typing classes.
Handwriting is considered a fine motor skill that stimulates and challenges the brain. Still, with schools turning to technology instead, some teachers are complaining students can barely hold a pencil but can swipe and double-click on their devices.
Students with learning disabilities, such as dysgraphia, when children can read but have trouble writing letters, can also be affected because methods of overcoming the disability require them to practice writing by hand.
Previous studies have revealed that IQ scores have dropped for the first time in a century, indicating that technology could be to blame.
Teachers, parents, and experts who DailyMail.com spoke to said they were seeing children and young adults who don’t know how to sign their names or read cursive.
New legislative bills have been passed in states like California and New York, requiring students aged six to 12 to learn cursive writing. However, others are still advancing in the state legislature, and some, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada, are hesitant to revert.
‘I wish [students] would learn how to write in cursive,’ Tracy Bendish, an ABA autism therapist for Jefferson Public Schools told DailyMail.com.
‘But it is like the telephone on the wall,’ she said. ‘Less and less used and then not there anymore.’
There is a big educational disparity between schools that readily access gadgets and those that don’t, causing the digital divide.
Students with better access to technology will have better educational success than those without, which is particularly concerning as more teachers turn to technology in their courses.
‘The digital divide has affected individual students in the same school as well as groups of students across districts, lowering the academic outcomes of low-income, underserved students and districts,’ according to American University.
Last year, researchers at the University of Oregon and Northwestern reported that IQ scores had dropped because technology shortens attention spans and decreases the need to think deeply.
Experts have been urging governments and school administrators to restore handwriting in schools, citing sixth graders who have trouble holding a pencil but can easily use digital devices.
Dr. Lori Koerner, the assistant superintendent for the Riverhead Central School District in New York, told DailyMail.com that cursive is essential for elementary and middle schoolers.
‘Though technology has its benefits, children need to be able to read cursive in the event a document is presented to them along their journey.
‘They most certainly, at the very least, need to know how to sign their name,’ Koerner said.
‘I have encountered too many secondary students and employment candidates who cannot sign documents relative to their onboarding process.’
Teachers and coworkers continue to struggle with ineligible handwriting. A 2021 survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Bic USA Inc. found that 45 percent of Americans struggle to read their own handwriting, while a shocking 70 percent reported that they have trouble reading notes or reports from their coworkers.
Some people have expressed similar views, saying that signing important documents will become a stressful practice without the ability to write cursive.
‘My 20-year-old granddaughter struggles to sign a check,’ said Kimberly Jacovino of Monroe, Connecticut.
‘It is very important and should be brought back to all schools,’ she added.
In the wake of turning to keyboarding instead of writing by hand, educators found students’ IQ levels are shrinking and placed the blame on technology in the classroom, Psychology Today reported.
