Minnesota State Senator Wants Cursive to Make a Comeback

(Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

(Minnesota Reformer) – It makes documents poetic. It strengthens hand-eye coordination. And, hundreds of years ago, “it was a mark of an educated person.”

That’s how Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, described cursive handwriting during a 20-minute monologue Monday about why Minnesota students should learn how to read and write in the loopy script that is nearing extinction. On top of its cognitive benefits, a good knowledge of cursive is also personal for the 83-year-old senator.

“I gave what I thought was a really nice birthday card to my — must’ve been 14 at the time — grandson. He handed it back to me and said, ‘Grandma, I can’t read this.’ I had to sit there and read to him,” Rest told members of the Senate Education Policy Committee.

Minnesota had a cursive teaching requirement until 2010 when the state adopted new English academic standards. Cursive is now optional for school districts. Twenty-four states require schools to teach cursive.