The use of cursive writing has been on a steep decline in the 21st century, but about half of U.S. states have mandated the reintroduction of cursive writing lessons in public schools.
This form of writing was commonly used for centuries until technological advances made it seem obsolete in recent years.
Jane Austen wrote her novels by hand. The United States' Declaration of Independence was carefully scribed by a clerk. Their handwriting appears almost lavish to the modern eye, but there were practical reasons for doing it this way. It's much quicker, and a quill pen would not have to be lifted from the page nearly as often as it would when writing block form letters.
New York state does not require schools to include cursive writing courses in their curriculum, but local districts have the option of offering the classes if they want to.
Some argue that there is no place for this in an already crammed academic schedule, but advocates point to studies showing that cursive improves comprehension and retention and the joining of letters in a continuous flow deeply engages the brain.
And historians like Tricia Noel believe the ability to read longhand writing is critical for understanding and preserving history.
That's why Noel, the executive director and curator of the Yates County History Center, is teaching a Cursive Camp for middle and high school students Aug. 6 through Aug. 9 at the center at 107 Chapel St. in Penn Yan.
"There might be a generation of kids who can't read cursive and some of them maybe want to go into the fields that require primary document research, like history or museum studies, and they won't be able to," she said.
Even though artificial intelligence programs or human transcribers could be used to translate historical documents, Noel believes it's risky to rely on this because mistakes can be perpetuated.
"It's like a game of telephone," she explained. "If an error is made, everyone after you makes that error. Having your own eyes on a historic document when you're doing research is the gold standard."
Thanks to a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Cursive Camp is free. But registration is required. Students can enroll by calling (315) 536-7318 or emailing ycghs@yatespast.org
