Cursive Script - A Dying Art?

January 24, 2025

Learning to write in cursive was a given when I was growing up. However, with the digital age have come many changes, including the view that cursive writing is unnecessary. Starting in 2010, the U.S. Government removed cursive from the Common Core Standards for education. While states could still implement cursive instruction if desired, most dropped it. Lately, however, there has been more push to bring it back. Some education professionals claim that children can learn cursive more easily than standard writing including those with dyslexia.

In a previous post, I discussed the benefits of writing by hand. Could writing cursive by hand further improve fine motor skills and letter recognition? While there is much speculation about cursive handwriting vs. print handwriting I was unable to find official studies comparing the two. One thing is clear however, we still need people who can read cursive.

A recent article by Smithsonian magazine brought attention to a plight at The National Archives. As more historical documents are being scanned for digital preservation, more people are needed to transcribe the writing on those documents. Historically, government, religious, and other documents have been written in cursive. Finding people who can read cursive therefore is imperative. Even those who can read cursive may find transcribing these documents difficult since cursive has evolved a lot in the past few hundred years.

Can you read cursive? Would you be willing to volunteer? I plan to help as time allows. My ability to read and write cursive has been invaluable since I have been doing genealogical research for nearly 30 years. I love the look and challenge of deciphering cursive, maybe you will too.