JUNE 04, 2014Cursive writing sparks new Common Core battleground
(S.C.) Fans of handwritten prose and elegant, linking letters may have been dealt a setback this week when a bill that would have mandated cursive writing instruction in South Carolina’s schools failed to make it to the floor of the state senate for a vote.
Saying that he doesn’t see the need to add on to the material schools are already required to teach, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney placed a procedural hold on the bill, effectively killing it for the current session.
Pinckney isn’t the only one who believes cursive is no longer an essential skill in today’s technologically driven society. Last year, the editorial board of the Denver Post opposed a statewide mandate for the teaching of cursive.
“Schools already have a full agenda when it comes to teaching,” the Post said, “and those demands are only increasing as schools attempt to prepare children for competition in a global economy.
“We understand nostalgia for cursive, and believe children ought to be able to read it,” the editorial said. “But an emphasis on teaching cursive will only take time away from more important Cursive writing sparks new Common Core battleground :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:
School nurse bill among the dead after May deadline
(Calif.) Bills that would have created a grant program for career technical education, saved seismic building repair funds from being used for other construction purposes and which would have required districts to hire school nurses are among those who missed a key legislative deadline to survive. But others -- including one to tighten regulations around the LCFF and LCAP process -- are moving on.