Officials in an Indiana school district said cursive writing lessons will be scaled down this year in favor of computer keyboarding.
The Brownsburg school district sent a letter to parents this week informing them third-graders will spend less time working on cursive writing than in previous years to make more time for teaching typing skills, the Indianapolis Star reported Friday.
“It is clear to us that cursive is becoming more obsolete,” said Donna Petraits, the district’s director of communications. “We are hearing equal amounts of praise and criticism on this decision, which we fully expected.”
Officials said students will still be given instruction on reading and writing in cursive, but they will no longer practice the repetitive drills previously used by teachers in the district.
“Cursive is almost like an art form, so we encourage parents to work on it at home with their child if they feel they need more than we will offer at school,” Petraits said.
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