Educators debate teaching handwriting in the tech age

It's a rite of passage for every student.

An unsteady hand learns to scrawl letters to form a name. More letters are mastered to form words printed between lines and, eventually, students turn their printed words into curving script.

Handwriting may be a cornerstone of education's "three Rs," but teachers say the lessons are getting squeezed out to meet the demands of a tech-heavy world.

Many schools no longer devote months to mastering handwriting skills now that typing and texting dominate students' fingers. And while teachers say handwriting still has value, skills such as cursive writing are losing their importance as computers take over the classroom.

"Cursive was created during the quill-and-ink days when it was important to keep the quill continuously on the paper," said Marie McElroy, a second-grade teacher at Berkeley Preparatory School. "I don't think it will ever disappear, but I also don't think we need to focus on it as much as we did because it's not as practical."

But McElroy said students need to remain exposed to it in order to read historical documents and certain literature.

Leslie Croslin, a fourth-grade teacher at Berkeley, teaches her students cursive but devotes more classroom time to laptop learning.

"We spend a lot of time on skills like blogging, e-mail etiquette and how to validate websites for research," she said. "I think it's important to give these children these life skills that are essential for an uncertain tomorrow."

Both teachers say good handwriting remains a key part of reading comprehension.

"The two are connected because without proper letter recognition, it will slow down a child's ability to process information," McElroy said.

And while older students devote a good portion of time on the computer working through lessons, doing research and typing papers, handwriting remains crucial in note-taking, said Judy Caprara, a learning specialist at Berkeley, who works with struggling students to boost their academics and teachers on new techniques.

"Most students still opt to take their notes by hand because they say it's easier to retain information," she said. "That connection of hand motion and the brain is crucial in the learning process."

Educators will need to monitor research in coming years to see if that changes as students spend more time on computers at a younger age, Caprara. In the meantime, she sees handwriting lessons taking a more practical approach.

"We've gotten away from what I like to call the 'fluff and slant' of handwriting, which focuses on the art of creating the letters," she said. "Now, it's a much more practical approach on how to simply write legibly."

That has teachers looking for new ways to approach handwriting instruction. At a recent "Handwriting Without Tears" seminar in Tampa, teachers learned to use devices such as molding clay, wooden sticks and miniature chalkboards to emphasize clear handwriting.

"We use different types of methods because not all children learn the same way," said Delia Poythress, who conducted the seminar.

For example, molding the clay can help students master their grips. Also, physically building the letters out of sticks helps them understand the various lines needed to write a letter.

Teachers often need these methods to reteach handwriting.

"Because parents are pushing their children to learn to write at earlier ages, they are often taught the wrong way to hold a pen or develop other bad habits that must be retaught using these types of hands-on methods," Caprara said.

But with computers able to do everything from transform type into different fonts to convert voice commands into written words, do people need to pick up a pen anymore?

Educators say "yes."

Handwriting is very much alive, partly because of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, said Temetra Creed, supervisor of elementary language arts for the Hillsborough County school district.

"We definitely still spend a lot of time emphasizing handwriting, and I believe that carries over into their writing scores," she said. "We were the second-highest scoring district in writing on this past FCAT."

Educators point to other examples where clear handwriting is still needed, such as the Bar exam would-be lawyers must pass to practice law or the essay portion of the SAT.

"Studies show that students who score the highest on the SAT write in cursive," Poythress said. "A student who can write legible cursive will be able to write faster or more clearly."

McElroy isn't sure that's true anymore.

"I would argue that many students can print more quickly than write cursive these days," she said. "And I think we will quickly see the exams get away from handwritten essays."

But occupational therapist Sheri Busbee from Orlando, who attended the Tampa handwriting workshop, said there will always be a need for good handwriting in life.

"We still write checks, fill out applications and write notes," she said. "Good handwriting will always be an important skill."