Growing up, I could not wait until second grade to learn how to write in cursive. I would hear whispers passed down through the grades of how the letters all connected to form seamless words, about how adult it all looked, how important it all felt.
I recently came across a box of papers from elementary school. Within the pile were pieces of that delicate brown paper with the light blue and pink lines. On the paper was my fresh and careful cursive, corrected with red pen tracing the line where my "e" should have looped and how my "k" should have looked. I remember how accomplished I felt when I learned to write "like an adult." How independent I felt knowing I had two options: print or cursive. Up until second grade, I only had one. But now, now I had two.
And so my heart broke a little when I found this article on CNN's website:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07-06/typing-beats-scribbling-indiana-schools-can-stop-teaching-cursive/?hpt=hp_t2
Writing is important. Any writing. Whether it be a check or a story, a card or a yard sale sign. Using your hand for that movement and purpose allows you to become intimate with yourself and your language.
So write. Please. Feel the curves of your language.
