Cursive Schools Writing Letters Students Handwriting Taught Write

In the past, American schools taught very young children how to "print" (write separate letters) and then quickly began to teach them "cursive" (a form of writing in which letters are connected to each other, with many flowing loops and curls). Students practiced "tracing" (copying, with one sheet of paper over another, and the words to be written showing through to the blank top sheet) letters and words and then practiced writing their own text in cursive.

However, with the increasing "prevalence" (how often something is found) of computers, schools have begun to emphasize the importance of "touch typing" (being able to type on a keyboard quickly and accurately, using all ten fingers, but without looking at the keys). Some schools do not teach cursive at all, and those that do usually emphasize it for only a year or two in elementary school, with no expectation that students will continue to write in cursive in the "upper" (later; more advanced) grades.

Some people believe that cursive handwriting is "antiquated" (old fashioned; no longer relevant) and does not need to be taught in schools. But other people "counter" (provide an opposite argument) by stating that students must be taught to write in cursive so that they can read old documents. They also argue that computers will never entirely replace pen and paper, so students need to learn to write in cursive legibly and quickly.

Most adults have a "hybrid" (combination) writing style, where some letters are joined as they would be in cursive, but other letters are "printed" (written separately). People tend to "defend" (respond to criticism of) their hybrid writing style by saying that it is faster than "pure" (100%) cursive or printing.