I love handwriting almost as much as I love Montessori! It's something that I believe to be an essential skill. But, if you happen to pay attention to any sort of media I'm sure you've heard the latest from the traditional education system. They are now arguing that cursive handwriting is no longer an essential skill due to the age of the computer and the digital world, therefore it should be removed from the school curriculum. Many experts in the field have come forward to say that this is a big mistake. The research done shows that handwriting speaks to different areas of the brain and children that can cursive write typically score better on tests and have better communication skills. Sadly many schools have decided to ignore the experts and school boards across North America have already removed cursive writing from the curriculum. I personally don't think we need experts to tell us that cursive handwriting in an important skill to learn but considering the career path I've chosen I say this about a lot of things. However, I never find myself shaking my head at Montessori and over a hundred years ago, Maria, could see that cursive handwriting was something that was a critical part of development in the child. She suggested that cursive be taught to children before printing based on countless hours observing children. She noticed that when colouring a young child formed circles first, rather than straight lines. Therefore cursive would be easier for a child to learn because it followed the child's natural development. Cursive is also much more efficient for writing. It is faster and allows for our thoughts to flow naturally. Print requires a stop and go motion and therefore can slow us down. Not good when writing a test. I also think that cursive gives us our own identity. If you came home from work and family member has left a note for you in the kitchen I bet that you can identify who wrote it based solely on their style of handwriting. Our handwriting becomes something that is so distinct we are able to use our signature to sign essential documents like a birth certificate, passport or marriage license. It belongs only to you and identifies who you are. I'm quite certain that if print is the only form of penmanship in our future this creative part of our identity would be lost. This is not to say that print doesn't have its place in language as well, it's just that cursive is beautiful. It speaks to the reader on a more personal level. Aside from all the benefits gained from learning how to write in cursive, I think that it is a beautiful art form that should not be lost. Thankfully there are Montessorians who happen to agree and will continue to fight the everlasting educational debate on handwriting and continue to support Maria Montessori and work to keep her genius philosophy alive.
At Riverforest we've never even blinked an eye when the question of keeping cursive in the school system came into the forefront. For us it's a no brainer and that is why in September our whole school switched to using a handwriting program called "Handwriting Without Tears". This is a program that I had been familiar with for a few years but in an effort to enhance the Montessori materials I wanted to find out if it was something we could incorporate into our classrooms. I took my first Handwriting Without Tears workshop in March of this year. I made my way to Toronto and entered a big room filled with occupational therapists, teachers and a few parents who either home schooled or wanted to do this program at home because their own child was struggling with writing and the school system just wasn't providing proper instruction. I was immediately shocked to find out that 80% of occupational therapy requests from schools were for handwriting and that teaching the mechanics of handwriting was no longer taught in teachers college so therefore teachers were no longer teaching it to their students. I was the only Montessori Directress there and I had no intention of revealing myself until I got a feel for the crowd. The misconception of what Montessori is can sometimes leave others with a negative impression so my experience talking to other teachers hasn't always been positive. Unfortunate really because I like to think our main goal is the same; to do what is best for the child. So with my shoulders a little tense I sat anxiously awaiting to hear what the speaker had to say about child development and handwriting. I knew that this could be a place where I was either shaking my head and saying why are others so far behind Montessori and her philosophy or I could be seeing it as an excellent opportunity to increase my knowledge and skills. By the afternoon of the first day the latter happened. The OT that was presenting made it clear that Handwriting Without Tears followed state wide standards (it's an American program) so their program did start with print. And arguably they had some very valid reasons for teaching print to children first. Not enough to convince me that I should start teaching print first, but she did have my attention because I like hearing both sides of the coin. She went on to say that as OT's (the program is designed by an OT) they really believed that cursive was an essential skill and that it can be taught to young children. She said, "after all we didn't stop teaching math once the calculator was invented!". I wanted to slam my fist on the table right then and there and say "here! here!". I of course didn't but I continued to perk up and relax my shoulders when girl from the crowd mentioned that she was raised in Europe where cursive is taught first. Reason number two for an excited fist slam! Then someone else mentioned Montessori and how cursive is taught first. She asked why? Well the OT didn't happen to know so feeling confident I revealed myself and explained why Montessori did things the way she did. It was still a me against them situation but I hopefully got a few people thinking outside of the box! After two more workshops I am now one test away from holding the title of certified handwriting specialist. Just like I had never imagined in a million years that I would move to Owen Sound, I never thought this would be something I would put on my resume. But I am proud to and also proud to say that the staff at Riverforest also feel so passionate about keeping cursive writing a part of our school all of the teachers have taken a course through Handwriting Without Tears. It has a lot of similarities to Montessori so we've found it easy to incorporate into our classroom. The children love it and as we approach the end of the first semester we are seeing daily triumphs from the children who are so proud of their work and this really is what its all about. Having happy, confident kids who feel empowered because they have a found a way to express themselves. Here are just a few examples of that!
Feel free to come and see me if you're wondering about the Handwriting Without Tears materials and how we've incorporated them into our classrooms. And please don't just take my word for it! Hear what others have to say on the topic: "How Handwriting Trains the Brain" is just one of the many articles circulating that support keeping cursive writing alive!
Miss Kate
P.S. My next post will focus on the HWT materials, Montessori materials, the development of the child's hand and what you can do to support your child at home.
P.S. My next post will focus on the HWT materials, Montessori materials, the development of the child's hand and what you can do to support your child at home.
