13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Brownsburg schools cutting back on cursive

Brownsburg schools cutting back on cursive

Brownsburg - A school tradition is being scaled back to make room for the future. Brownsburg Community Schools will curtail cursive.

The writing part of reading, writing and arithmetic is changing for third graders in Brownsburg Community Schools.

"Elementary teachers and principals have been questioning the necessity of teaching cursive," said Donna Petraits, Brownsburg Community Schools.

The district sent a letter to parents spelling out the changes. Instead of focusing on cursive writing skills, students will lean how to use a computer keyboard better.

"We're doing what they need to survive in the future," said Kim Runyon, a third grade teacher at Brown Elementary School.

Runyon says her students are already asking about it.

"I told them we will learn how to write in cursive, we will learn how to write your name. You will learn how to read in cursive," she said.

But the repetitive cursive exercises most of us were subject to in elementary school are writing themselves out of future pictures.

"If you look at what skills students need to know, cursive becomes less and less of a priority," said Petraits.

The school district says some parents are happy about the change and some aren't.

"Whenever you create a change from something that's been as ingrained as cursive writing, you know people will express themselves," said Petraits.

That's why the school district is pointing parents to online cursive writing tools if they want their children to expand the skill beyond reading cursive and using it to sign their name.

"We understand and respect the face that it is a time-honored tradition," said Petraits.