Handwriting in a Digital World

As parents, many of us fondly remember learning cursive handwriting in school as children–the curly letters that looked like calligraphy, the quick dash of a pen across the page, the excitement of handwriting letters to pen pals and family. Learning cursive was both practical and enjoyable for many of us. Linking letters together and keeping them neat was seen not only as an artform but essential for the educated public.

That is why you may be surprised to learn that many schools across the country have now relegated cursive handwriting to the sidelines or even eliminated it altogether from the curriculum. Here locally, our Bend-La Pine school district does not teach cursive handwriting in elementary grades, though some teachers still choose to include it.

In the digital age where laptops and tablets have largely replaced pen and paper, coupled with the ever-increasing intensity of standardized testing, some educators view teaching cursive handwriting as a waste of time. Why bother with this anachronistic artform, when kids today are more likely type than write by hand?

Example one. Credit: Courtesy of Waldorf School of Bend

In 2010, the U.S. government officially removed cursive from the Common Core standards for K-12 education, thus beginning the death knell of cursive education. An estimated two thirds of today’s youth don’t know cursive, according to historian and former Harvard president, Drew Gilpin Faust. Yet there are many drawbacks to this change which are worth considering.

Firstly, many critical historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and Civil War era legal documents, are written in cursive. History matters, and when the population lacks the ability to read original source material directly, they become reliant on a small group of trained translators and experts to interpret history for them. This puts the next generation at a distinct disadvantage.

“As a society, it separates us from what has come before and understanding our origins and the meanings of them,” argues Faust in an interview with National Public Radio. “How do we translate this? Who is the translator? And if someone wants to distort the past, they could present documents in inaccurate ways or leave out certain words.”

The children of today may also be disconnected from the past in more personal ways if they are not able to read their ancestor’s love letters, birthday cards sent from grandparents or family trees written in cursive. How will they even write their own signature when it comes time to sign a legal document?

“Fluid, flowing cursive writing engages the whole body, which connects children to a deeper sense of learning.”
Mary Anne Hinton, Waldorf School of Bend

Secondly, learning cursive handwriting strengthens fine motor skills in the hand, and where the hand flows, the brain learns. From a neurological point of view, science has confirmed that there are many critical learning benefits from handwriting when compared to typing.

One such study published in the National Library of Medicine entitled “The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing—Who Wins the Battle?”, edited by Paolo Taurisano, concludes that, “Handwriting activates a broader network of brain regions involved in motor, sensory and cognitive processing. Typing engages fewer neural circuits, resulting in more passive cognitive engagement. Despite the advantages of typing in terms of speed and convenience, handwriting remains an important tool for learning and memory retention, particularly in educational contexts.”

Example two. Credit: Courtesy of Waldorf School of Bend

Writing out information by hand also helps the brain retain new information. If you want your child to have an educational edge, teaching them to take lecture notes by hand can double as an effective study aid, and cursive handwriting is what allows note taking to happen quickly.
Yet not all schools are forgoing the teaching of cursive handwriting. Waldorf schools, which offer an alternative, entirely screen-free elementary education, regularly teach cursive handwriting starting in the third grade. Students are expected to create their own textbooks filled with art and handwriting, most of which is done in cursive.

“The children really love cursive writing and keep asking me when we are going to learn it?” says second grade teacher, Mary Anne Hinton, who teaches at the Waldorf School of Bend. “From my perspective, the continuous fluid motion of cursive writing brings sustained attention, develops fine motor skills and cultivates rhythmic coordination. Fluid, flowing cursive writing engages the whole body, which connects children to a deeper sense of learning.”

With all these reasons to learn cursive, why not consider teaching your child cursive if they are not learning it in the classroom? Multiple practice workbooks are available online, and YouTube abounds with free tutorial lessons so your child can learn from home, either from you directly, from an online educator or even with a tutor.

Faust recounts from a reader who shared, “One of my favorites is a story about a man who found that in a sort of free inquiry part of an elementary school class, the class was able to do something of their choice related to learning during a certain segment of the day.

One little girl was bringing in cursive workbooks. And there was this little clutter of girls who were teaching themselves cursive. And he mused, he wondered whether it was a cult or an organizing unit or what. But somehow these children wanted to learn cursive and took it upon themselves to teach themselves, even though it’s no longer in the curriculum.”

This article appears in Bend Nest Spring 2026.