Should schools reinforce cursive writing skills?
COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019 29
Although the intense
rain and powerful, destructive
winds from Hurricane
Dorian have ceased, we
know from experience that
the hurricane season is not
over yet.
Hurricane season,
which starts on June 1, normally
peaks around this
time in September with
back-to-back storms forming
quickly. The thought
of it takes me back to two
years ago when we were
hit by Hurricane Irma,
with Hurricane Maria following
on its heels. The
homes, roads, major infrastructures
and people
in their paths in Florida,
the Bahamas, Puerto Rico,
Dominican Republic, U.S.
Virgin Islands, and Dominica
were shattered. Many
of the places hit by Hurricanes
Irma and Maria
have still not fully recovered.
Seeing such need,
Governor Cuomo launched
the NY Stands with Puerto
Rico Recovery and Rebuilding
Initiative to send SUNY
and CUNY students to help
with rebuilding efforts on
the island. I was fortunate
to be a part of this work
this summer as I worked
alongside CUNY Service
Corp students to help clear
land of the debris of fallen
trees in order for it to be
inhabitable for farming. I
was reminded, as I helped
to clear trees, of the similar
post hurricane experiences
in the Virgin Islands.
I also remember October
2012 when Superstorm
Sandy wreaked havoc
across our city and along
the Jersey shore. Sandy
claimed many lives and
caused about $70 billion
in damages, making it the
fourth-costliest storm in
U.S. history behind Katrina,
Harvey and Maria.
Although I was not the
president of Kingsborough
Community College (KCC)
at that time, I know that
several areas and buildings
on the campus sustained
major damage. When the
storm hit, KCC’s emergency
preparedness team
went right to work, getting
electricity and hot water up
and running on the campus.
KCC also opened its doors
to the students and anyone
in the community in need
of food, water, ice, clothes,
toiletries and emergency
supplies trucked in by the
New York Food Bank, the
American Red Cross, and
the faculty and staff.
As we approach October,
weather forecasters
are actively watching other
disturbances developing
in the Atlantic. It is important
that we are prepared.
September is National Preparedness
Month, a time
where we promote family
and community disaster
and emergency planning. In
the event of an emergency,
natural or otherwise, it is
important to have an emergency
kit, emergency supplies
and medication, and
a plan of action for yourself
at home or on the job, and
for your family, pets and
elderly or physically challenged
neighbors. If you
are uncertain about how to
prepare for a crisis, emergency
readiness courses,
workshops and brochures
are offered by NYC Emergency
Management (Ready
New York), the American
Red Cross, Community
Emergency Response Team
(NYC CERT) and local organizations.
Sign up for FREE
information from the city’s
official emergency notification
system by visiting
NYC.gov/notifynyc, call 311
or follow @notifyNYC.
As we take time to prepare
this month, let us also
take time to recognize our
incredible service men and
women of the FDNY, NYPD,
EMS, and hospitals—who
serve our communities and
who are always prepared to
help.
Dr. Claudia V. Schrader
is president of Kingsborough
Community College located
in beautiful Manhattan
Beach, Brooklyn. The college
offers a degree and certificate
in Emergency Medical
Services for preparation
to become a paramedic and
proud first responder. Visit
https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/
ems or call 718-368-4600.
EDUCAT I O N PROFI LE
September is National Preparedness Month
EDUCATION
Cursive writing lessons were once
mandatory in schools. Many
adults can remember cursive
writing lessons on lined paper and
time spent practicing this aesthetically
appealing style of writing.
But thanks to technology and a growing
reliance on computers to complete
school assignments, handwriting skills
are no longer stressed as much as they
once were. In fact, some children never
receive cursive writing instruction.
The absence of cursive writing lessons
has led to a heated debate. Some
people feel cursive writing is archaic
and a waste of time, while others believe
it is a relevant skill. Here is a look
at both sides of the debate:
The pros of cursive
writing
Various experts and educators
have weighed in on the lasting benefi ts
of cursive handwriting. Here are just
a few of the benefi ts proponents of cursive
writing point to:
Cursive writing stimulates the
brain. “Cursive writing helps train
the brain to integrate visual and tactile
information, and fi ne motor dexterity,”
Dr. William Klemm said in
an article in Psychology Today. The
skills developed from learning cursive
writing cannot be replaced by using a
keyboard. In addition, MRIs have revealed
an interesting relationship between
handwriting and the brain. The
brains of people with good handwriting
are more active in areas associated
with cognition, language, and executive
function than the brains of those
with poor handwriting.
It may promote focus. Writing
things down by hand forces a person
to slow down and formulate his or her
thought. Handwritten notes may hold
the advantage over computer-typed
notes in terms of recollection of facts.
It may help students with dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a language processing
disorder that can hinder reading,
writing, spelling, and sometimes even
speaking. According to the International
Dyslexia Association, when
writing cursive, the words jotted down
become a unit, rather than a series of
separate strokes, and that may contribute
to better spelling. And since all
lowercase cursive letters begin on the
line, fewer of them are likely to be reversed.
The cons of cursive
writing
There are various reasons why people
think lessons in cursive writing
are unnecessary:
Cursive writing is only used in
signatures. Cursive writing is seldom
used except for signatures. Even then,
e-signing and online transactions have
removed the need to write in cursive.
Typing on a keyboard should
take precedence. Many parents and
educators believe that cursive writing
lessons do little to prepare young students
for an increasingly digital world.
Such opponents of cursive writing suggest
keyboarding lessons should take
precedence over teaching handwriting
skills. Teachers have admitted
that cursive writing lessons take a lot
of time, and many simply cannot devote
classroom time to them.
Digital texts make it obsolete.
Some argue that those who do not
know how to read in cursive can never
understand historical texts or early
manuscripts. However, so much has
been transcribed into digital texts that
this argument is seen by many as outdated.
Cursive writing may be going the
way of the dinosaur. But the debate
about the value of cursive writing fi gures
to continue.
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