Latest News on Cursive Handwriting
Question: What is the latest on cursive writing? Is it making a comeback or gone forever? All my children have been taught is how to write their names in cursive.
– Love Cursive
Answer: The decision of states to drop cursive handwriting instruction from their curriculum was definitely influenced by the dropping of this skill from the Common Core standards in 2010. However, by 2016 cursive instruction began making a comeback, especially in the South and is continuing to do so throughout the country.
Today, the older generation laments the passing of cursive instruction. But the younger generation questions its role in a time when both cursive and print handwriting are being replaced in schools by keyboarding on computers and typing on mobile devices.
Both advocates of teaching printing and/or cursive agree that each play a major role in child development and need to be taught. An MRI scan study has shown that they fire up a “reading circuit” in the brain that is not engaged in children when they are typing.
There is at the present time no conclusive evidence that learning cursive contributes to developmental gains in children. Research does show that it can benefit children with dysgraphia (a handwriting learning disability.) Plus, cursive handwriting is typically faster than printing and reduces the confusion between “b” and “d.” Most experts now say that one form of handwriting is no better than the other.
Is Child’s Reading Problem an Eye Problem?
Question: I just read the parent letter about her second grader’s choppy reading. This sounded exactly like what my son experienced. The school reading intervention program did not result in improvements, so I took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist who determined that he had an ocular misalignment.
One of his eyes didn’t immediately focus on the word so he had to look at each word until it came into focus. The problem was easily fixed within 90 days at no cost with daily vision exercises. Please get back to this parent and recommend an eye exam with a pediatric ophthalmologist (non-pediatric ophthalmologists may miss the problem). Our doctor told us that if this is not addressed at an early age, it is irreversible. – Solution Found
Answer: Whenever a young child has a reading problem, both eyes and ears should definitely be checked out. Thanks for the good advice for our readers. However, keep in mind most reading problems are not caused by a medical problem.
Choppy reading in second grade can be caused because students did not learn their basic phonics and sufficient sight words in first and also due to a fluency problem. Improving reading fluency is definitely a big part of the language-arts process. Not only does it improve comprehension, it also makes children confident oral readers in the classroom. Plus, fluency is one skill that is relatively simple to improve in students who don’t have serious reading or communication disorders.
Satisfying Needs of Gifted Child
Question: I have a young son who learns things rather easily. He began reading at three. And now at five, he can add, subtract and multiply and understands fractions. He also can do his older cousin’s third-grade work.
The local school placed him in kindergarten. Their policy is not to advance children until third grade and then for only one grade. He enjoyed kindergarten at first because he got to play and made new friends.
Once the class started to learn the alphabet and count to 10, he began to hate school because it was so boring. We asked the teacher if he could bring his own books to read while the other kids did what he already knew. She said that the books were not age-appropriate.
Once the school closed due to the pandemic, we were able to have him do challenging work at home. Now he is back in school in first grade and finds the work to be boring once more. Can anything be done in public schools for an advanced learner, or do we need to consider homeschooling? – Perplexed
Answer: Your son is a gifted student. While in kindergarten there were some benefits, he was learning socialization skills and acquiring some art and music skills. Many teachers would not have the attitude of this teacher and would have set him loose on the computer and in books to provide a more challenging curriculum.
If he continues in this local public school or its online classes, he will not be advanced until third grade. You might want to look for a different public school or a private one that would let him do more challenging work in the classroom, skip him one or two grades, or let him take classes such as reading and math on a more advanced level while letting him remain in first grade for most of the day.
You also might consider homeschooling. There are many exciting possibilities. Homeschoolers may get together with other homeschoolers to offer an exciting curriculum on several levels. This is more like a school. Also, you could homeschool him and join other homeschoolers for field trips and special advanced classes.
Within your area, there will be other bright young children like your son. Become part of a gifted organization to learn of all the possibilities to give your son an education that matches his abilities.
Both authors have master’s degrees in education and specialist degrees (Ed.S.) in reading. In addition, Peggy has a doctorate in special education and educational leadership.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com.