The Handwriting Is on the Wall: Cursive Is in Decline

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In one of her undergraduate history seminars, Harvard professor Drew Gilpin Faust recently discovered that the majority of her students could not read cursive. To them, it was like a foreign language. This is not surprising as cursive was not part of the Common Core educational standards introduced in 2010, though half of the nation’s states, including California, now include cursive in their curriculum. Some argue that computers have made the need for handwriting obsolete. But research suggests that handwriting, and cursive in particular, helps children read better and retain knowledge. What is lost when we cannot write or read in cursive? We’ll talk to experts on handwriting, and we’ll hear from you: Is cursive relevant anymore and how’s your handwriting? Guests: Drew Gilpin Faust, Arthur Kingsley University professor in History Organization, Harvard University - Faust is the former president of Harvard University; recent article for the Atlantic is titled, "Gen Z Never Learned to Read Cursive" Robert Wiley, assistant professor, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro Virginia Berninger, professor emeritus, University of Washington College of Education Sandra Gutierrez, associate DIY Editor, Popular Science; recent article, "Wait, It's Not to Late to Get Good Handwriting" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, boated the number one wellness resort and spa by readers of travel and leisure magazine in 2024.
0:09.7	In August, three or four people sharing a cassita enjoy special vacation packages that include hiking, mindfulness, and fitness classes, in a garden setting on 4,000 verdant acres of nature preserve.
0:22.4	Check in to summer at Rancho LaPorta.
0:25.1	Rancho LaPorta.com.
0:26.8	Greetings boomtown.
0:28.3	The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming!
0:30.6	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:33.7	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go.
0:37.3	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:39.3	Restrictions apply. Xfinity, Internet required. Actual speeds vary.
0:42.3	From KQED.
0:44.3	KQED.
0:45.3	You know, From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum.
1:03.0	I'm Nina Kim.
1:04.0	A Harvard history professor recently discovered that her undergrads could not read cursive,
1:10.0	which might not be too surprising, as computers
1:12.4	and an emphasis on keyboarding have meant about half of U.S. states don't require cursive in schools.
1:18.9	California does include teaching cursive in its common core standards, though has left
1:23.1	it up to districts to decide how much they will. So is something being lost with a decline of cursive?
1:30.0	Beyond the charm and personal touch, why do some people read cursive, the historical manuscripts, even the handwritten feedback notes on their papers, leading
2:03.3	Faust to ask, what gets lost when we cannot read or write in cursive? It's the subject of her
2:09.7	recent piece in the Atlantic titled, Gen Z, never learned to read cursive. And Professor Gilpin
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.