Cursive comeback: Tulsa woman’s program used in Green Country and beyond

The National Archives is actively recruiting people who know how to read cursive. There are millions of historical documents that need to be transcribed.

Getting people to volunteer has turned out to be a challenge. Cursive was removed from federal Common Core education standards in 2010, so fewer people know how to read or write it.

Cursive Comeback

A Tulsa woman wants to change that. She created a curriculum that condenses cursive lessons. Her program is used in Texas, Missouri, West Virginia, and many schools here in Green Country.

Some students today spend more time typing and swiping than putting actual pencil to paper.

No doubt, in this day and age, there is extreme benefit to utilizing technology. Though Linda Shrewsbury argues, there could be benefits to going back to the basics.

Workbooks are open and pencils are at the ready. Students in Paula Benitez’s classroom are ready to master “the loop.” 

“Did you practice? This is better,” Benitez said to a student.

It’s not easy; learning a new skill takes a lot of time and repetition. 

“It’s kind of a code. Not everyone knows how to write cursive,” Benitez said.

“Cursive Logic”

This code of connected letters was created by Linda Shrewsbury. 

"We have a method that can help children gain this skill in a way that we haven't done it traditionally,” Shrewsbury said.

It’s called “Cursive Logic,” and Shrewsbury is on a mission to get the lessons back into schools everywhere.

"The old three R's: reading, writing and 'rithmatic. Turns out that it was spot on-- that writing is foundational to the whole expression of literacy,” Shrewsbury said.

Cursive curriculum was once a mainstay. Though with technology, the need for writing was eventually replaced with typing. Some children today may grow up not learning how to sign their own names. Shrewsbury spent a lot of time figuring out a way to teach cursive to a new generation of students.

Teaching Cursive Differently

"People learn best with patterns. They learn more easily when they can see how things fit together. So I looked at the cursive alphabet for a long time and sure enough I saw a pattern."

She split the alphabet into four groups, and from there developed lessons that take a year’s worth of learning and condenses it down to just a few weeks.

Cursive at TPS

Tulsa Public Schools picked up on it, and implemented it at Zarrow International School.

At Zarrow, 5th graders have the opportunity to study abroad in countries like Spain, for a few weeks. Years ago, students were having a hard time reading the board and keeping up with work because the writing was in cursive. Now, the school focuses on that work in 3rd and 4th grade classes, like Benitez’s.

The benefit to knowing the skill is bigger than a study abroad trip. Shrewsbury argues it’s the base for meaningful learning.

"We have a fundamental problem right now where kids are not getting this brain stimulation from handwriting that really is very important and foundational to education,” Shrewsbury said. "Especially for young children. If they're not getting that kind of brain stimulation that handwriting and using fine motor skills involves, their brains may not reach the same full potential."

It’s a new way of learning a classic skill, connecting the past to the present, and inspiring a cursive comeback.

Cursive Required in the Classroom

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law last year requiring public and charter schools to teach cursive to students in 3rd through 5th grade, beginning this school year. Some districts may have continued teaching cursive, even after it was removed from federal requirements in 2010. Many private schools in our area have also been teaching cursive for years.

The publication "Education Week" says Oklahoma is one of 24 states that requires cursive to be taught in schools. That trend has grown in the last decade.