The write stuff

photo Staff photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press Karen Cooper, a paraprofessional at Rossville Elementary School, left, works with kindergarteners Cansas Shaver and Trinity Morlas, from left, on writing their names.

Kindergartners were just learning to write their names in the simplest script at Rossville Elementary School, where the smell of paper and the scratching of pencils filled the air.

Right now, it's considered one of the most important things they can learn and the whole period in teacher Audrey Buxmann's class on Thursday was dedicated to the craft.

But as those children progress through school, they'll see handwriting wax and wane in use and importance. Before middle school, they'll be using buttons to communicate, tapping out their words on a keyboard.

And their handwriting, like that of countless others, will suffer.

"Penmanship is out the window, and technology has taken over," said Wynona H. McGhee, a retired Chattanooga city schoolteacher who was teaching at Dalewood Junior High when she retired in 1984.

"Cursive writing obviously is gone; everything is print," she said, teacher's passion rising in her voice.

When she retired, computers and keyboarding were becoming popular, she said.

"I have seen a decline, not only in writing, as such, but 'texting,' Lord, it's even worse," she said. "They don't even spell words out, they give you the letter ... 'u.'"

McGhee, 82, echoes the laments of handwriting fans everywhere when she decries the lost art of penmanship.

Media accounts across the nation tell of students who scoff at the importance of penmanship in the age of cybercommunications, but some still believe the handcrafted word has a place in the classroom.

Students at Chattanooga's Center for Creative Arts, a public college preparatory school for grades six through 12, say keyboarding is the norm, but several add that they recognize the need to know how to read and write script.

"The Constitution was written in cursive," sophomore Thomas Santos said. "You've got to know how to read that."

Thomas, 15, and fellow sophomore Agnes Porter, 16, defended the pen, at least in some circumstances.

"I have not done cursive handwritten since I was in fourth grade. I've always done print; I find it easier," Agnes said.

"Once you got in the higher grades, they didn't expect you to write cursive anymore," she said. "My Mom kind of found that shocking. She was like, 'Don't you write in cursive anymore?' And I was like, 'To be honest, I only know how to write my name in cursive. That's it.'"

Thomas said handwritten communication is more personal.

"When you write a letter, the whole thing's your signature," he said.

The teacher viewpoint

But some teachers see handwriting's demise ahead.

"I think that handwriting should go the way of the Europeans -- block-style lettering," Walker County, Ga., teacher Ge-Anne Bowdoin-Bolhuis said.

"It is universally understood, similar in all languages and, with our increased dependence on computers and mobile devices, it appears that today's primary school student will have little need to write at all, much less in a difficult-to-master decorative script," said Bowdoin-Bolhuis, a technology teacher at Naomi Elementary School.

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"I do think we should teach a standard handwriting style, just not cursive," she said.

Teacher Sandra Bush bemoaned the loss.

"People used to take pride in their penmanship, and I don't see that anymore," said Bush, English language arts teacher at Ridgeland High School in Rossville.

"Teachers, myself included, do not emphasize penmanship like they did in the past," Bush said. "We know that, if students have major assignments, resumes, business letter to write, they will use a computer."

Artful script is slipping away, she said.

"It's kind of like when I look in the old family Bible and see the beautiful script that my ancestors used -- I admire it and hate that it is a lost art," she said. "It's very possible that my great-grandchildren will look in my family Bible and feel the same way about my cursive writing."

LaFayette High School English teacher Brenda Kaye said script lends individuality to a message.

"There is just something special about writing a letter in one's own cursive writing," Kaye said. "Everyone has a unique handwriting, but anyone can type on the computer and it will look the same as the next person."

Changing standards

Tennessee's curriculum requires students to "write legibly in manuscript and in cursive," said Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Amanda Anderson.

Georgia's new Common Core State Standards -- which will be implemented next school year -- don't now include cursive writing, but that could change, Georgia Department of Education spokesman Matt Cardoza said.

"Cursive writing is currently taught in third and fourth grade," Cardoza said. "Even though the new [curriculum] does not include cursive writing as it stands now, teachers may decide during our 'precision review' in February to keep cursive writing."

Michael Sull, handwriting expert and master penman for language arts and reading materials company Zaner-Bloser, said penmanship is a reflection of human expression.

Sull was President Ronald Reagan's calligrapher in the years after his presidency and is a past president of the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, Teachers of Handwriting.

Electronic communication and people's affection for gadgets have reduced emphasis on the "old technology" of handwriting, he said.

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But handwriting is a culmination of thousands of years of human creativity and communication and conveys ideas, images and provokes the imagination with its beauty, he said.

"They've pushed handwriting completely out of the educational system because they view it as no longer necessary because children can communicate and prepare themselves better for business and industry and vocations with computer education," he said. "There are many children who can't read cursive handwriting; they can only read print."

A total switch to the keyboard is "short-sighted," he said.

In Chattanooga, McGhee said there's no avoiding technology, not even for her.

"I have some former students who bought me a computer and brought it to my home and set it up," she said. "I'm not accomplished person on the computer. I can send an e-mail and those kinds of things. I see Facebook and I know about Twitter and I can tweet."

But skill with pen and paper still holds a high place in sharing ideas and thoughts, she said.

"It's important and, since it is a form of communication, let's not throw it away," she said. "Not everything is connected to a socket."

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