SANS CURSIVE
SANS CURSIVE
NOTE The five states that have not joined the Common Core Curriculum Initiative are: Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska,Virginia, and Texas.
LEGISLATION
AL L
CHILDREN left behind
M I S S I O N The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.
Although this initiative sounds positive, cursive, once a mandatory skill for nearly all children in elementary school, will soon be phased out of education altogether in the United States. Forty-five of fifty U.S. states have adopted the Common Core State Academic Standards, a set of education standards that omit cursive, but includes keyboard proficiency. Teachers are able to choose to teach cursive writing or stop all together. As we trade our pencil for the key,will cursive become tomorrow’s hieroglyphics?
SANS CURSIVE
ROOTS t ra c ing cursiv e’s
HOW LONG HAVE HUMANS BEEN USING CURSIVE WRITING?
Niccolo Niccoli, a 15th century Italian, credited for “invent every letter was connected, and was easier to read than 19
1500»
1600»
the hist o r y o f
ENGLISH CURSIVE
1700» 1800»
Anglo Saxon Charter Example
Shakespeare’s will
The Mayflower Compact
Bickham’s Universal Penman
Declaration of Independence
The Gettysburg Address
Spencerian Script
Old English
Secretary Hand
William Bradford
Round Hand
America
America
A cursive handwriting style—secretary hand—was widely used for both personal correspondence and official documents in England from early in the 16th century.
In the English colonies of the early 17th century, most of the letters are clearly separated in the handwriting of William Bradford, though a few were joined as in a cursive hand.
Round Hand originated in England in the 1660s primarily by the writing masters John Ayers and William Banson. Characterized by an open, flowing hand and subtle contrast of thick and thin strokes deriving from metal pointed nibs, its popularity rapidly grew, becoming codified as a standard through the publication of printed writing manuals.
In the American colonies, it is notable that Thomas Jefferson joined most, but not all of the letters when drafting the United States Declaration of Independence. However, a few days later, Timothy Matlack professionally rewrote the presentation copy of the Declaration in a fully joined, cursive hand.
Just eighty-seven years later, in the middle of the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln drafted the Gettysburg Address in a cursive hand that would not look out of place today.
Spencerian Script
Cursive writing was used in English before the Norman conquest, but English cursive first made an appearance in Anglo-Saxon Charters. The charters typically include a boundary clause written in Old English in cursive script.
Known as the Father of American Penmanship, Platt Rogers Spencer’s. writing system was first published in 1848. This “Spencerian Method” was taught in American schools until the mid 1920s and has seen a resurgence recently.
HISTORY
ting” our modern-day cursive, although it had been evolving long before his day. As Niccoli’s script radiated from Italy, it became known as “italic.” Niccoli’s cursive was simple, sans curly-cues, and not 9th century cursive. As many cultures, including the Italians, have developed a cursive scripts far back as 328 A.D. (Classical Arabic), this timeline begins at the start of English cursive in 1500.
1900» 2000»
Palmer Method
Zaner-Bloser
D’Nealian
Getty-Dubay
Barchowsky
Handwriting Without Tears
Keyboarding
Palmer Method
Zaner-Bloser
D’Nealian
Getty-Dubay
Barchowsky
Today
The dominant copybooks in North America at the start of the 20th century included those produced by A.N. Palmer, a student of Gaskell, who developed the Palmer Method, as reflected in his 1894 Palmer's Guide to Business Writing,
Also popular was Zaner-Bloser Script, introduced by Charles Paxton Zaner and Elmer Ward Bloser of the Zanerian Business College. The A.N. Palmer Company folded in the early 1980s. Zaner-Bloser continues, and accounts for roughly 40% of American handwriting textbook sales.
Published in 1976, D’Nealian, named after its designer, Donald Neal Thurber, is a derivative of the Palmer Method and uses a slanted, serifed manuscript form followed by an entirely joined and looped cursive of the typical American variety. D’Nealian accounts for 40% of handwriting textbook sales in the United States.
Also published in 1976, Getty-Dubay, which was named after its designers, Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay, is an italic hand and uses a slightly slanted, optionally serifed italic manuscript followed by a partially joined, unlooped italic cursive with letter-forms similar to those of italic manuscript.
With Barchowsky Fluent Handwrting, letters taught to beginners evolve seamlessly into joined-up (true cursive) writing. Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting never changes letter formation. Teaching time is saved.
Handwriting Without Tears The Handwriting Without Tears cursive program teaches a clean, vertical style of cursive that promotes ease of learning and enjoyment of writing. It offers students an easy transition from printing to cursive.
In 2011, the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Hawaii announced that their schools will no longer be required to teach cursive (but will still be permitted to), and instead will be required to teach keyboard proficiency. Since the nationwide proposal of the Common Core State Standards in 2009, standards have been adopted by 45 states, all of which have debated whether to augment them with cursive.
SANS CURSIVE
FINE MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT is the first step in developing our cognitive abilities. As our brains learn to connect our inner worlds to the external universe, we begin to recognize abstract ideas like awareness of others and perception. Cursive writing affords us the opportunity to train these fine motor skills by taking advantage of a child’s inability to fully control their fingers. This means cursive writing acts as a building block versus as a stressor. With a less strenuous learning experience, children can progress in their learning at a faster, more efficient rate. Rand Nelson of Peterson Directed Handwriting believes when children are exposed to cursive handwriting, changes occur in their brains that allow a child to
overcome motor challenges. He says “the act of physically gripping a pen or pencil and practicing the swirls, curls and connections of cursive handwriting activates parts of the brain that lead to increased language fluency.” The sense of touch is probably more important to learning than taste or smell. When children write in cursive, they “feel” or “experience” the shape of the letters as they form them on paper. Physically forming the letters with the fingers seems to make an “imprint” upon the brain. When children have experienced the process of “coding” the words, it helps them to “decode” the words. Therefore, cursive handwriting helps children learn to read. Coding the words using a tactile activity is more meaningful than using a keyboard because all of the
MOTOR SKILLS
fine
MOTOR SKILLS keys on the keyboard feel the same. The challenge offered by the motor learning activities helps the brain learn how to get its various structures to work together more efficiently as it processes symbolic language. Further, Reza Shadmehr and Henry Holcomb of Johns Hopkins University published a study in Science Magazine showing that their subjects’ brains actually changed in reaction to physical instruction such as cursive handwriting lessons. The researchers provided PET (positron emission tomography) scans as evidence of these changes in brain structure. In addition, they demonstrated that these changes resulted in an “almost immediate improvement in fluency,” which led to later development of neural pathways. In addition, as a result of practicing these
handwriting motor skills, the researchers found that acquired knowledge becomes more stable.
Because children are developing their fine motor skills, cursive writing allows them to gradually improve their hand-eye coordination versus straight lines that strain students. Educators and parents should recognize that a child who learns how to use the internal control system effectively will have a powerful advantage when it comes to using our symbolic language as a tool for learning. The right kind of handwriting lesson offers the kind of motor-learning activity that stimulates the brain to build pathways for better reading, writing and yes, even keyboarding.
SANS CURSIVE
THE BRAIN
stimulation
BRAIN
Cursive Handwriting & The Brain
Cursivehandwriting handwriting Cursive stimulates brain stimulates brain synchronicity. That is,is, synchronicity. That cursivehandwriting handwriting cursive helps coordinate the helps coordinate the rightside side of of the right thebrain, brain, visual side,with with or or visual side, theleft left side, side, otherwise the otherwise known theverbal verbal known asasthe side, of the brain. side, of the brain.
» Studies suggest there’s real value in learning and maintaining this ancient skill, even as we increasingly communicate electronically via keyboards big and small. Iris Hatfield, creator of the New American Cursive Program, draws a connection between cursive writing and brain development as a powerful tool in stimulating intelligence and language fluency. “The movement of writing cursive letters helps build pathways in the brain while improving mental effectiveness,” she said. “And, this increased effectiveness may continue throughout the child’s academic career.” »Forming letters is key to learning, memory and generating ideas. Recent research illustrates how writing by hand engages the brain in learning. During one study at Indiana University, researchers invited children to man a “spaceship,” actually an MRI using a specialized scan called “functional” MRI that spots neural activity in the brain. The kids were shown letters before and after
receiving different letter-learning instruction. In children who had practiced printing by hand, the neural activity was far more enhanced and “adult-like” than in those who had simply looked at letters. The benefits of gripping and moving a pen or pencil across paper go beyond mere communication. “It seems there is something really important about manually manipulating and drawing out two-dimensional things we see all the time,” says Karin Harman James, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Indiana University who led the study. She headed an Indiana University research team that studied the benefits of handwriting on children. They discovered that handwriting can change the way children learn and help their brains develop in entirely more productive ways.
»Other research highlights the hand’s unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas. Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says handwriting differs from typing because it requires executing sequential strokes to form a letter, whereas keyboarding involves selecting a whole letter by touching a key. She says pictures of the brain have illustrated that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing
and managing information. And one recent study of hers demonstrated that in grades two, four and six, children wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard. One recent study of hers demonstrated that in grades two, four and six, children wrote more words faster and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard. »You have the research; you have the child. Give it a try. Go to any school supply store and purchase a wide-lined paper pad, pencils, a white board to copy the alphabet, etc. And then merely support them in writing those thank-you notes in cursive or sit down with them and practice together. Buy them a journal and suggest they practice in a daily diary. It could be quite a learning and a sharing experience for them and you. ACCORDING TO SOME RESEARCHERS,
THE DEBATE IS LIKE COMPARING THE ACT OF PAINTING BY NUMBERS VERSUS
THE FLOWING, RHYTHMIC BRUSH STROKES OF A TRUE ARTIST.
SANS CURSIVE
What does your cursive
H
ow you craft letters and words can indicate more than 5,000 different personality traits, according to the science of graphology, also known as handwriting analysis. A person’s handwriting, the script, and its placing on the page express the unique impulses of the individual: logically, the brain sends signals along the muscles to the writing implement they control. By examining a handwriting sample, an expert graphologist is able to identify relevant
? features of the handwritten script, and the way the features interact. The features, and interaction between them, provide the information for the analysis. No single handwriting feature proves anything specific or absolute by itself; a single feature alone can only identify a trend. It is the combination of features, and the interaction between them that enable a full and clear interpretation of the letter forms.
W hy cursive? Graphologists say it gives
your turn!
them a better read on a person.
Try writing the sentence-The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog- now in cursive (even if you usually print), then read on to see how graphologists might characterize you. Note: Each analysis corresponds to the handwriting sample to its side.
If your loops are... Closed for E: You tend to
Closed for L: Feeling tense?
be skeptical and are unswayed by emotional arguments. Full for E: You have an open mind and enjoy trying new things.
This implies you are restricting yourself in some way. Full for L: You are spontaneous and relaxed and find it easy to express yourself.
EXPRESSION
If your writing slants... To the right: You are open to the world around you and like to socialize with other people. To the left: You generally like to work alone or behind the scenes. If you are right-handed and your handwriting slants to the left, you may be expressing rebellion. Not at all: You tend to be logical and practical. You are guarded with your emotions.
If the size of your letters are… Large: You have a big personality. Many celebrities have large handwriting. It may suggest that you are outgoing and like the limelight. Small: You are focused and can concentrate easily. You tend to be introspective and shy. Average: You are well-adjusted and adaptable.
If your S’s are… Round: You are a people-pleaser and seek compromise. You try to avoid confrontation. Pointy: You are intellectually probing and like to study new things. The higher and pointier the peaks, the more ambitious you are. Open at the bottom: You might not be following your heart. For example, you always wanted to be an artist, but you have a career in finance instead. Printed: You are versatile.
WHAT THE
FONT? There are an estimated 265,978 fonts and 154,322 type families out there. When people argue that one may be able to use a unique, personalized font, think again! There’s nothing more personal than your own handwriting. Cursive is more than a traditional style of writing. Cursive has an intrinsic value for learning and self-expression.
text sources Anesi, Jen. “Poll of the Day: Should Kids Still Have to Learn Cursive? - Shelby-Utica, MI Patch.” Shelby-Utica, MI Patch - News, Sports, Events, Businesses & Deals. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://shelby-utica.patch.com/articles/poll-of-theday-should-kids-still-have-to-learn-cursive>. Armstrong, Amanda. “What Does Your Handwriting Say About You? | Real Simple.” Real Simple - Recipes, Organizing, Beauty, Fashion, Holidays. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/ handwriting-101-00000000015886/index.html>. Bounds, Gwendolyn. “How Handwriting Boosts the Brain - WSJ.com.” Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. 5 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870463150457553193275 4922518.html>. Bounds, Gwendolyn. “Texas Students Will Be Taught Cursive Writing | EducationNews. org.” Web’s #1 Source for K12 and Higher Education News and Commentary - EducationNews.org. 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www. educationnews.org/commentaries/insights_on_education/106583.html>. Common Core State Standards Initiative | Home. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www. corestandards.org/>. “Cursive.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Cursive>. Geiger, Matthew. “How Cursive Writing Affects Brain Development.” Kevin Trudeau Show. 13 May 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ktradionetwork.com/health/howcursive-writing-affects-brain-development/>. “Hawaii No Longer Requires Teaching Cursive In Schools.” Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 1 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www. huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/hawaii-no-longer-requires_n_915402.html>. “Interview with Dr. Karin Harman James.” Personal interview. Sept. 201 Nelson, Rand. “What Is It about Cursive?” Peterson Handwriting. Web. <http://www. peterson-handwriting.com/Publications/PDF_versions/AdvantageCursiveRef. pdf>. “Penmanship.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Penmanship>. Quigley, Elaine. “Graphology, Handwriting Analysis - How Graphologists and Handwriting Experts Analyse Handwriting - Free Graphology Techniques and Theory Training.” Businessballs Free Online Learning for Careers, Work, Management, Business Training and Education: Find Materials, Articles, Ideas, People and Providers for Teaching, Career Training, Self-help, Ethical Business Education and Leadership; for Personal, Career and Organizational Development. A Fun Free Online College of Ethical Life and Work Education, for Self Help, Teaching, Careeer Development, Distance Learning, Organizational Development, with Team Building Games and Exercises, Free Self-help and Training Ideas, Free Management Theories, Free Diagrams, Templates, Samples, Examples, Materials and Tools, Free Child Development Activities and Adults Development Exercises Ideas. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.businessballs.com/ graphologyhandwritinganalysis.htm>. Sortino, David. “Intelligence And The Lost Art Of Cursive Writing – Dr. David Sortino The Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA - Archive.” Dr. David Sortino - The Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA. 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://davidsortino. blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10036/intelligence-and-the-lost-art-of-cursivewriting/>.
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colophon
Sans Cursive was created by Cristina Vanko for her BFA Graphic Design thesis exhibition at Indiana University–Bloomington during Winter of 2011. She created the Cursive is Gone series of chalkboards and used chalkboard marker, chalk, pastels, and charcoal to create the boards, which were masonite boards covered in primer and chalkboard paint. To accompany the boards, the informative book was printed digitally on smooth Mohawk Superfine 80 lb. text at Indiana University–Bloomington. The cover was constructed from Arches 88 cover black. Cristina would like to thank the four other fabulous Graphic Design BFA’s who have been living with her in the studio, the Graphic Design faculty at Indiana University–Bloomington, her family, and friends.