Imagine turning sixteen, you just passed your drivers test and got your picture taken for your drivers license. Then the workers at the DMV ask you to sign your name (in cursive) for your license, but you have no idea how to write your name in cursive, or even what this means.

In the United States the Common Core State Standards do not require teachers to teach students cursive writing. This can be detrimental to the kids in the long run.

Kids at the primary school level focus on math and reading comprehension, but not enough time on handwriting. To me, handwriting and cursive writing is just as important as these other subjects because you need writing for everyday life.

By not focusing on handwriting, teachers who teach at higher grade levels have to pay the price when they try to decipher written assignments from their students who can’t even read their own writing.

Teachers at the higher grade levels should not have to try and spend extra time trying to make out words one at a time like they are just learning to read. Some people do not have the neatest handwriting, but at the least, it should be legible.

Teachers at the primary school level should be required to make the time to teach their students cursive writing which is such an important part of everyone’s lives.

Cursive handwriting is used for signing legal documents, marriage certificates, drivers licenses, checks, contracts, and even standardized tests.

It also gives people a sense of individuality and allows everyone to express themselves through how they write their name. By not learning how to write a signature, teachers are taking away students originality.

Not only is this handwriting crucial for people to sign things, but it helps people focus on content, gets the brain working, helps people retain information, and can help improve a person’s spelling.

Some might argue that cursive handwriting is obsolete, so there is no point in teaching it, but this skill is a necessity for everyday life from now to adulthood. It cannot become a skill that is forgotten about because of its history.

Signatures are something that have been around since Ancient Rome. Historical American figures such as George Washington, signed documents in a type of cursive writing. This writing has become a part of American culture.

Documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were written and signed in cursive handwriting. I do not think it is acceptable to forget about history and where our country came from.

America has changed so much, the least we can do is keep the cursive handwriting that early Americans used.