Bringing Cursive Back: Why It Disappeared and How to Teach It

I've shared in earlier posts about how valuable and essential cursive is for a child’s development, but you might be wondering why it disappeared from schools in the first place. The answer is a mix of history, policy, and changing priorities in education.

Cursive has a long history, going back to ancient Rome, where businesspeople developed it to write more quickly. For centuries, it was the standard for anyone who needed to write frequently. Even when I was in school in the 70s and 80s, cursive was taught and graded, and we practiced it weekly. However, things started to change with education policies like No Child Left Behind and later, the Common Core standards. When Common Core was introduced in 2010, it dropped handwriting and cursive requirements. Since then, most schools have stopped teaching it altogether.

The reason was not so much an attack on cursive as a shift in focus. The goal of Common Core was raising test scores in reading, language arts, and math. Anything not directly contributing to those scores was either dropped or de-emphasized. Even subjects like science and art became less central in many schools. The result is a very test-centric education system, where every minute is scheduled, leaving little time for skills like handwriting.

But there's hope. Some states and lawmakers are recognizing cursive's value again, making efforts to reintroduce it into the curriculum. But parents and homeschoolers don't need to wait for schools to catch up—you can teach cursive at home, and it's easier than you might think.

When working with students on cursive, I usually start with lowercase letters, grouping similar letters (like o, a, and c for loops, or l and f for tall loops) to build muscle memory. Special cursive paper with extra dotted lines helps guide letter formation. There are also many free worksheets available online.

The key is practice! Just 15 minutes a day can make a big difference. As kids learn cursive, their spelling and phonics skills often improve because they're sounding out words as they write. If you're uncomfortable teaching it yourself, live online classes can guide your child step by step.

Cursive may have fallen out of favor in schools, but its benefits are timeless. By bringing it back into your child’s education, you give them a tool that supports brain development, literacy, and lifelong learning. And who knows? If you also learn, you might just rediscover the joy of writing by hand yourself.