Generation Z (those born in 1996 through 2010) have been brutally punished by the generations before us; we weren’t taught how to write. Their excuse? “Everything is online, kids don’t have to read or write real letters anymore.” This gave them the right to allow kids to hold their pencils with the same grip they hold an ice cream cone. Our print is mediocre, and our cursive abilities are non-existent.

This major mess-up started when we were young. The implementation of Common Core doesn’t address handwriting. We lack the bare basics of crafting letters. This came to a front  the day we went through the cursive alphabet once, and was magically expected to be able to write and read it. Our fourth grade selves looked at cursive the same way an alien from Mars would; assuming Mar’s education system doesn’t teach cursive, either.

Cursive holds many benefits that sadly, generation Z is missing. According to Brain Balance, “An article from Psychology Today states that learning to write in cursive is an important tool for cognitive development. When a child learns to read and write in cursive through consistent practice and repetition, he or she must effectively integrate fine motor skills with visual and tactile processing abilities. This multi-sensory experience supports cognitive function and development.” Not only does cursive help kids brains, but it is also known for lessening symptoms of Dyslexia. Dyslexia comes from functional disconnection of the auditory and functional regions of the brain. Cursive increases tactile experiences, which helps strengthen kid’s associations with sounds and learning. 1 and 10 people suffer from Dyslexia, and yet something as easy as learning cursive has yet to been integrated back into schools.

When asked about his feelings on kid’s inabilities to read and write cursive, Mr. Pence, an Algebra 2 and Trigonometry teacher handed me a sticky note with his response; written in cursive. He said “Cursive is important to our education. We need to know how to write and read it. Many Documents from the past are in cursive, it’s easier to take notes, and it looks like a person is much more intelligent if they can use cursive when writing to someone.”

Doctor’s notes, documents from history, and any hand written paper from someone over the age of 27 is written in cursive. Valerie Hotchkiss, a library director at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote: without knowing cursive, students “will be locked out of doing research with literary papers and archival collections.” In response to the controversy over cursive, Sue Pimentel, one of the lead writers of the English/language arts standards, explained that the decision was about priorities. She says “We thought that more and more of student communications and adult communications are via technology. And knowing how to use technology to communicate and to write was most critical for students. The idea is you have to pick things to put in there. …. It really was a discussion.”

Sophomore Vishnu Mavilla says “Granted, we do use more technology now than ever before, there will always be writing and reading off the computer.” Whether cursive returns to schools or continues to be absent due to “priorities”, it may be too late for our generation to efficiently catch up.