National Handwriting Day

Happy National Handwriting Day! It might not be an “official” national holiday, but people have been celebrating National Handwriting Day since 1977, when the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association established the holiday to “re-explore the purity and power of handwriting.”

National Handwriting Day is celebrated on January 23 in conjunction with the birthday of John Hancock, whose large, famous signature was the first to adorn the Declaration of Independence. It’s a wonderful day to celebrate and practice handwriting in your class—or to ponder the controversies regarding handwriting in schools today.

One controversy that has surrounded handwriting is to what degree cursive should be taught in schools. In the Saturday Evening Post, Caitlin Carpenter claims that the art of cursive “is an endangered species,” especially given the rise of technological communication and simpler handwriting models. Though some studies claim cursive writing can lead to higher academic performance, such as higher SAT scores, others argue that such studies are misleading and that cursive shouldn’t be taught over other handwriting models.

Still others claim that the most efficient way for anyone to write, including children, is with a keyboard. One professor from Carpenter's article claimed that if students “spend less time thinking about their handwriting and more time writing, they will have longer compositions and better grammar and planning.” It’s definitely true that since I’ve left school, the vast majority of my writing and composing takes place at a keyboard. But how early should keyboarding education begin in schools, and at what cost to instruction in handwriting?

Some have argued that the issue isn’t the kind of handwriting taught, but children’s ability to produce neat and eligible handwriting. As one principal stated, “It's a dangerous path to go down if the only way you can communicate or record information is electronically or with printed letters.” Though technological communication is so prevalent, I agree with the director of the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association when he said, “nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word.”

What’s your take on handwriting and cursive in schools today? How do you teach handwriting and encourage good penmanship when text messages and e-mails rule the halls? Please share your thoughts, and in the meantime, you can try some of these ideas to celebrate National Handwriting Day with your class:

• Encourage your students to write and deliver a nice handwritten note to a family member, friend, or role model.
• Learn about John Hancock as a class. This great leader played a key role in the American Revolution, and his signature on the Declaration of Independence is so famous that today a person’s “John Hancock” is his or her signature.
• Have your students create, practice, or change their own John Hancocks. Your class can try signing their names in new ways (big, small, loopy, messy, or neat).