Cursive writing is a style of handwriting. All the letters are put together in a continuous flow. So, it's a compound handwriting style where all the letters are linked together. The goal is to help children learn to write quickly. Previously, cursive writing learning was the standard for teaching writing in schools but now it is no longer mandatory.
Because the writing is connected to each other, cursive writing is an alternative to using block letters which are considered more difficult for children who are just learning to write. Practicing cursive writing requires you to lift your pen between each letter you write. Because of its interconnected forms, cursive writing is often referred to as combined handwriting.
Actually, cursive writing has been known as script handwriting since the 17th century. This writing style was introduced before the advent of the typewriter. Initially, cursive writing was highly favored by teachers, lawyers, and doctors in their work. Cursive writing is also good for writing in letters and various types of important documents.
Cursive writing learning also has a lot to do with quills. The reason is, this style of writing was famous before the existence of pencils or pens. In that era, the famous writing instrument was the quill. Because the quill pen breaks easily, cursive writing is the best writing style suitable for writing with the quill. That's because cursive writing does not require a lot of pressure on the writing.
Then, what exactly does the word "cursive" mean? So, it is a word that comes from Middle French. There are also people who say that it comes from the medieval Latin word, “cursivus.” The meaning of the word is running. This is to show the meaning of cursive writing, which is a style of writing that is written without interruption or running across the page.
In 2016, many states instructed the application of cursive writing in the school curriculum. In the USA, one of the cities that implements cursive writing massively is New York. Why do schools need to teach cursive writing skills?
The cognitive benefits of learning cursive writing have been proven in several studies. An example is research conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. These findings show that cursive writing helps the brain to have a good memory in the learning process.
The results of this study were also reinforced by the presence of brain waves which increased electrical activity in the parietal lobe and midbrain due to cursive writing.
Then, the university returned to conduct research in 2020. This research is another piece of evidence related to the benefits of cursive writing to improve children's cognitive abilities. The results of this study indicate that cursive writing activates the reading circuits in the brain. So, cursive writing becomes important in children's reading process.
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Because cursive writing is very important for children's cognition and provides various benefits, especially as strategy to improve writing skills. Hence, schools should implement cursive writing in the student learning process. However, parents can also teach this to children at home.
Cursive writing is actually taught to children in grades 3-4. This is because children in grades 3 and 4 have acquired many abilities to write and read. So, they are taught to learn fun handwriting styles such as cursive writing.
However, if children have been taught about the alphabet before grade 3 or 4 and have mastered handwriting, you can teach them about cursive writing. So, what's the best way to teach children about cursive writing?