Inga Dubay & Barbara Getty, www.handwritingsuccess.com
Q: What is this debate about teaching cursive handwriting in school?
A: The question of how to teach handwriting, or whether or not to teach handwriting at all, has been going on for the better part of a century. More recently, the decision in 2010 not to include handwriting in the list of recommended Common Core standards has added fuel to the debate.
Recent evidence from cognitive science is abundant and compelling: Handwriting experience helps young children build literacy and reading skills, and helps older children and adults with learning and language acquisition. So today, there really is no valid debate about whether or not to teach handwriting, but the question of how to teach it remains.
Contrary to what you might read on the Internet, there is no evidence that handwriting in a cursive mode is better than handwriting in a print mode from a cognitive standpoint. Despite the lack of evidence, twenty-five states now have legislative mandates requiring some level of instruction in “cursive”. California requires “cursive or joined italic.” There is some evidence that cursive-mode handwriting may help with fluency, understanding that continuously joined styles tend to be slower than mixed-mode handwriting.
You might also hear that it is necessary to write in a style of handwriting in order to read that style, or that signatures must be in cursive. Both statements are false. Granted, it may take some relatively short extra decoding lessons to learn how to read handwriting with loops and curlicues, for those who aren’t used to it.
The unspoken assumption in the debate is that the choice is between print and a continuously connected and looped style of writing. Students don’t see looped cursive letters on their computer screens, smartphones, tablets or in books, newspapers, and other media. No wonder most students have lost interest in this style of writing by the time they are in high school.
But there is a third way: Italic handwriting.
Q: What do you mean when you use the word “cursive”?
A: Sometimes when people hear the word “cursive,” they think only of the continuous or “looped cursive.” This brings to mind tedious exercises in grade school and perhaps low grades in penmanship – and maybe illegible writing.
“Cursive” comes from the Latin word, “currere,” which means “to run.” Cursive writing is literally “a running hand.” So cursive handwriting doesn’t mean that every letter in a word has to be joined to the next letter or that the writing must be sloped or that loops should be added to letters. Cursive just means that handwriting has a flow, making it comfortable and efficient. In other words, cursive is a mode of writing, not a style.
There are two kinds of cursive-mode handwriting in the USA: Continuous “looped” cursive and cursive italic.
Q: What is the difference?
A: Look closely at the differences between looped cursive and italic with regard to the learning process and outcomes. With continuous looped cursive, the student must relearn the alphabet at age 9. Consider the fact that in all areas of education, the most successful programs build on previously learned concepts, as with italic.
Looped cursive has been taught in US schools since the early 1900s and includes brand names such as Zaner-Bloser, D’Nealian, and Handwriting Without Tears. In looped cursive, loops are added to lowercase and capital letters, altering the letterforms. Looped cursive requires that all letters in a word be connected. When third grade students make the transition from printing to continuous cursive writing, they must learn as many as 42 new letter paths and, in some programs, a change of letter slope. These changes take a lot of time to learn and practice, and for many students it is a traumatic transition.
Italic handwriting has been in around for over 500 years, predating modern continuous looped cursive styles by centuries. Cursive italic does not require students to learn new letter shapes, as it builds on previously learned letterforms. Think of cursive italic as joined printing. Also the letter slope is the same for both basic italic (printing) and cursive italic. Since the writer is not adding loops to letters for cursive, handwriting remains legible. The writer may choose to join letters, lift between letters or use a combination of both techniques. Printed handwriting is always an acceptable choice. (Attorneys attest that a clear, printed signature is just as legal as an illegible, joined scrawl.)
Q: If a teacher wants to teach cursive handwriting, which is the best choice?
A: Again, consider the learning process: Is the time spent teaching handwriting efficient, and does the process build on previously learned concepts?
In our experience of over 40 years, we have found that italic handwriting works well for all levels from kindergarten to adulthood. Basic italic (printing) instruction begins in kindergarten and cursive italic is introduced in the second or third grade. Teachers need less instruction time, since cursive italic is a natural continuation of what students have already been taught. Some children prefer to continue to print, while others easily segue into using diagonal and horizontal lines to connect some or many letters.
Q: When an adult wants legible handwriting, which is the best choice?
A: Consider the outcomes: As an educator and as a person who writes by hand, which of the two cursives, continuous looped cursive or cursive italic, would you choose for effective personal communication? Which will your students be able to read?
Adults in our numerous seminars for medical professionals and others in our public workshops who have chosen to make their handwriting legible, find it helpful to drop the loops — performing a “loopectomy” as one surgeon phrased it. That’s why we see “Please Print” on every form: eliminating loops promotes legibility. Adults who use basic and cursive italic find that they have a legible, useful, and aesthetically-pleasing handwriting.
Q: Where does Getty-Dubay stand?
A: Legible handwriting is still important in this technological age, and evidence from cognitive science points to using handwriting more — not less — for literacy, learning and language acquisition. We question the usefulness of requiring “cursive” without considering which handwriting program has the most efficient learning process and produces the best outcomes. If you want to teach cursive-mode handwriting, the most educationally sound transition from print to cursive is found in the italic style of handwriting, as with Getty-Dubay® Italic. In addition, Getty-Dubay® provides legible handwriting instruction for all ages.
Inga Dubay & Barbara Getty, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series and Write Now: The Getty-Dubay Program for Handwriting Success; www.handwritingsuccess.com
Citations for this article are available on request. This article is reprinted and updated from the original in 2013.
OVERVIEW:
Getty-Dubay® Basic Italic (printing):
Sans-serif lowercase and sans-serif capitals
Slightly sloped letters at 5º slope, both basic and cursive
Ascender/capital height similar to most fonts; descender length similar to most fonts
Getty-Dubay® Cursive Italic:
All lowercase letter shapes remain the same from printing to cursive
Easy transition from printing to cursive with many options
Only one capital letter shape (Y) changes from printing to cursive
Option to use basic capitals with cursive lowercase
