“When children create something, they’re invested in it.” -- Jason Greenberg, school spokesman, Sea Star Waldorf School.
Handwriting has always been very close to my heart.
I was one of the lucky ones; I was taught cursive writing as a child. I never thought I’d be saying this but I have to because so few children are learning this skill in the digital age. It comes up in conversation with parents and teachers all the time. Parents are dismayed that their children are not being taught cursive and children are apologizing for their handwriting (as if it is their fault that they have not been taught the skill and given the opportunity to practice).
How many hours – indeed years -- did I put in learning cursive at the Rudolf Steiner School? I cannot imagine. Once we learned basic cursive, in second or third grade, we would copy Barbara Palesty’s history lesson from the blackboard – which she had written in cursive – in lead pencil in our “Good Books.” We would then go home and write over our lead pencil writing with our Sheaffer student fountain pens. Apparently children can learn cursive with fifteen minutes a day of practice. There is no question that we were putting in at least an hour a day, if you consider the copying of the lesson in school and the rewriting of it at home.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that Waldorf Schools are still teaching cursive and was thrilled to read the following article:
http://www.seastarwaldorfschool.com/sea-star-initiative/penmanship-waldorf-schools/