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Poll: Most readers support move to bring back cursive

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Students are taught cursive writing and the use of computers is delayed until later grades

Last week, Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce announced some changes to the elementary curriculum, which include bringing back traditional cursive handwriting

"Cursive writing is a critical life skill in helping young people to express more substantively, to think more critically, and ultimately, to express more authentically," he explained

Cursive has been optional since 2006. 

People for Education's Annie Kidder dismissed the move, saying that “most of the world doesn’t write in cursive any more, and we all manage to sign our names.” 

(The changes also include a renewed focus on phonics as a tool for teaching reading, which seemed to get less attention.)

In an online poll this week, the change got overwhelming support:

1,661 of you voted. 

Responses didn't differ fundamentally between communities: 



Discussion

Patrick Cain

About the Author: Patrick Cain

Patrick is an online writer and editor in Toronto, focused mostly on data, FOI, maps and visualizations. He has won some awards, been a beat reporter covering digital privacy and cannabis, and started an FOI case that ended in the Supreme Court
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