Rosario Lee
Technology in the Classroom – W. 4:30-7:10pm
Dr. Devon Duhaney
Article Review – “Cursive writing may be fading skill, but so what?” – AP – Tom Breen
September 23, 2009
The ubiquitous use of technology replaces the need to handwrite. According to several
experts, frequent use of computers among students resulted in the loss of the art of cursive
handwriting. Whereas in the past people handwrote to communicate with one another, today
handwriting is a self note taking practice. As Breen states, “Handwriting is increasingly
something people do only when they need to make a note to themselves rather than
communicate with others. Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a
hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting.” Thus it is no
surprise to see young people use technology as a means of communication instead of
traditional pen and paper. The practice of cursive handwriting is becoming obsolete and many
fear its extinction. Professors are afraid that cursive handwriting will soon be lost. As one
professor states, “Text messaging, e-mail, and word processing have replaced handwriting
outside the classroom, said Cheryl Jeffers, a professor at Marshall University's College of
Education and Human Services, and she worries they'll replace it entirely before long.”
Today, students have become too dependent on computers that a world without
technology would be unimaginable. One teacher tries to connect writing with communication
for her students by asking, "In the age of computers, I just tell the children, what if we are on an
island and don't have electricity? One of the ways we communicate is through writing,"
Likewise, the fear is not about losing the practice of making pretty looking strokes on a page but
instead that the less handwriting is practiced by students the less improvement there will be in
students’ writing abilities. As stated, “Graham argues that fears over the decline of handwriting
in general and cursive in particular are distractions from the goal of improving students' overall
writing skills. The important thing is to have students proficient enough to focus on their ideas
and the composition of their writing rather than how they form the letters.” For others,
handwriting also involves and thereby enhances physical activities. According to Spencer,
“cursive writing is an art that helps teach them muscle control and hand-eye coordination.”
With computers one click of a button to send messages, there is no need to concentrate and
learn any sort of body mechanics.
The use of technology evolves both in itself and in its outside effects. Cursive
handwriting may not be first in its choice of communication for students in an age of
technology but it still is part of our daily lives. As Breen states, "People still have to write, even
if it's just scribbling," said Paula Sassi, a certified master graphologist and a member of the
American Handwriting Analysis Foundation.” Technology changes over time just like the tools
we use to write change. As Breen writes, "Just like when we went from quill pen to fountain
pen to ball point, now we're going from the art of handwriting to handwriting purely as
communication," she said. Handwriting is no longer an art form. Rather the shift has reached a
concern about its effective use as a way of communication.