Why Johnny Can't Read -- Cursive, That Is

Allyssia “Lys” Hayes had to teach herself how to write her own name in cursive. Why? She was never taught.

And she isn’t alone.

Many Generation Z individuals don’t know how to read or write in cursive, as lessons teaching them the skill were eradicated across the US  education system in 2010 with the introduction of Common Core Standards. Since the standards changed, the emphasis on handwriting began to shift to keyboarding proficiency.

Gen Z may be the last generation to have been taught, but only for a short period — and it seems what little ink they have is running out.

Florida brought back cursive in elementary school classrooms in 2014. Now, students are taught cursive starting in third grade until the end of fifth, according to a Patch article published in January. From middle school forward, however, cursive is up to the teacher’s own jurisdiction.

The prominence of cursive in society has generally diminished throughout centuries as technology advanced. From new pens to typewriters to word processors and finally, computers, cursive script has been used less and less.

Now, younger generations are struggling to write their signature and read historical and even modern handwritten works.

On a scale of one to 10, Hayes would rate her ability to write in cursive a four, giving herself grace because she was taught for a “split second in a lesson” in middle school.

“Because [cursive is] something that they’re not teaching in school anymore, we’re left to assume it’s not as important,” said the 21-year-old journalism student from the Palm Beach County area. “So what if it’s not the neatest, or it’s not the best, or it doesn’t look the cutest? Like it’s my cursive handwriting; it’s homemade. It’s what I taught myself. I’m okay with it.”

Young adults and adolescents today mostly write in block letters on paper when they are not typing on an electronic device. However, cursive is still a useful skill for many professions — forensic scientists, handwriting experts and lawyers, for example, need to be able to not only read cursive but dissect it for bigger investigations or assignments.

Library archivists, in particular, need to have the ability to interpret older handwriting styles present in many rare books and manuscripts.

At one point, cursive was the main handwriting style used for written communication and documentation. This traces back to the invention of the first quill pen, created in the Dark Ages with the use of quill feathers as a handwriting utensil.

To avoid ink spills and smudges, the tip of the feather had to stay on the page the whole time when writing words. This pen was the primary handwriting tool until the 19th century, so the connected style of handwriting became the norm. Individuals continued to use this style even as pen types evolved.

With the invention of the ballpoint pen in 1888, cursive usage began to decline because the pen did not spill ink every time it was picked up from the page. Many began to write in closer fonts to the print or block lettering seen today.

There is a long history of cursive handwriting, and each technological milestone contributed to its decline.

Cursive has evolved over time into a more simple and more direct form, says Victoria Thur, a rare book librarian and assistant dean for Special Collections at Florida Atlantic University. This could be because of the varying circumstances in which cursive handwriting might be established.

Some archives were written on a boat, dramatically altering the writing style. Others were written in the dark. There is a clear difference between formal cursive and informal cursive — writing to colleagues versus writing to family. The writer’s personal handwriting style, or hand, is also a major contributor.

These aspects put together are why Thur considers handwriting, specifically cursive, to be a puzzle.

“The way we use language has evolved,” she said. “Every new generation takes their own spin and their own turn… because you never know, the… kind of way everybody loops their letters together or links their letters together is slightly different.”

Kimberly Bain, the former assistant director of FAU’s writing center, does not often see cursive writing when students come in for help. She says most students present their drafts typed on a computer.

She says those who do bring in handwritten drafts are usually adult bilingual or multilingual learners. Faculty who provide feedback write in their shorthand cursive, while younger students write in print.

Bain’s experience is reflected in statistics over two decades that reveal students weren’t the only ones who began to lose their cursive ability after schools dropped the handwriting curriculum. A 2021 OnePoll survey showed that 70% of Americans cannot read their colleagues’ handwriting.

The recent emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has caused some concern among educators, specifically in terms of authenticating documentation. About 80% of educators worry about AI negatively impacting academic integrity, according to findings from a Carnegie Learning survey published in March.

Even with two-factor authentication services that rely on AI, many continue to discuss the credibility of technology-based authentication methods.

In addition to being a writing style, individuals’ handwriting helps with identification.

Cursive is no longer required to sign most documents today, however. Instead, many businesses operate in a fully virtual space and count on AI to authenticate information.

For example, history and political science double major Benjamin Cohen is involved in FAU’s student government and says they sign papers virtually using DocuSign. While interning at Special Collections, he resorted to using an AI transcription service called Transkribus to interpret older cursive handwritten works.

If this article weren’t typed but written in cursive, would you be able to read it?

Many in the younger generations would say no. Due to the collapse of the cursive curriculums coupled with these more advanced technologies, the ability to read cursive, much less write it, may seem like a moot point.

Thur, the FAU Special Collections librarian, believes the recent decline in K-12 educators is a major contributor to the cursive curriculum’s continued neglect. Although with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fully dropping Common Core in 2020, there seems to be hope written in the stars for cursive enthusiasts.

“I think maybe a different trend in education at that time didn’t permit students to be able to learn cursive. I don’t know what the prevailing ideas were,” Thur said. “I could see there’s… a huge demand on K-12 teachers so I could see how not having cursive would not be part of their curriculum. But hopefully, going forward, it gets reintroduced.”

Florida isn’t the only state re-introducing cursive to some classrooms. In fact, Kentucky has already made moves.

Iris Hatfield, a self-proclaimed “cursive crusader” based in Kentucky, spoke in favor of an amendment to SB 167 at a March 1 Kentucky State Senate meeting about reinstating the cursive curriculum in schools. On April 12, the Senate approved the amendment 87–10 and the Kentucky governor signed the amendment into law on April 17.

This means cursive could very well be on its way back to K-12 education in the near future.

“I just think it’s a very important thing to do,” she stressed.

Hatfield is the founder of the New American Cursive penmanship course, has authored seven elementary-level cursive workbooks, and has been sponsoring an annual penmanship contest since 2009.

She emphasizes the mental benefits of cursive handwriting, referencing a Scientific American article, and says it provides students with transferable skills.

“The physical act of cursive requires focus, self-discipline, organization, patience, attention to detail and accuracy. These are priceless skills for our young students,” Hatfield said. “I know many students are taught printing somewhat, but the cursive taps into the brain; that stop and start of printing is not as fluid as the cursive. Learning cursive gives the child a sense of accomplishment and self.”

Anthony Moro, the assistant director of Special Collections at FAU, says he teaches his son how to write in cursive because he doesn’t want him to rely on technology lest it fails.

“He could just do it himself,” Moro said. “There’s something empowering about that.”

However, despite handwriting experts’ confidence that the writing form is coming back from its apparent cessation in the past few decades, some individuals in Generation Z believe it is already dead and won’t return.

Hayes, a senior multimedia journalism major at FAU, feels cursive is already long gone for her generation, as well as those after it. She notes that cursive is “so far from life” for her younger siblings and the kids she tutors at her elementary school job.

“I think cursive is dying, and I don’t know if I can say dying; I think it has fully deceased,” she said.

The handwriting style isn’t coming back, believes Cohen, but he wishes the education system would spend more time teaching cursive nonetheless.

“It’s definitely something that should be kept going,” he said. “It’s a shame that our system doesn’t prioritize it anymore.”

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