You may not care for Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees infielder who is rejoining his team after a yearlong suspension for using steroids. But his recent apology letter to fans rocked. In an era of tweets and Instagram, he hand-wrote his mea culpa — in cursive.
A-Rod’s 216-word letter is perhaps the most widely circulated handwritten document since the Declaration of Independence. And it could be one of the last of its kind. Since 2010, almost all states, including Kentucky, have adopted the Common Core education standards — a new set of goals for what students should learn in school — and cursive isn’t on the list.
The decision is understandable: With limited classroom time, educators must prioritize the subjects they teach. Learning penmanship in an e-world seems almost loopy.
But the omission comes with a price. For writers, learning cursive stimulates better reading, spelling and retention skills. It helps writers generate more ideas and develop superior hand-eye coordination. And, without cursive, how will the next generation sign a contract or receive a registered letter at the post office? (What’s a post office? they will ask.)
For the reader, the end of cursive is also a blow. We get a hint about John Hancock based on his stylish signature on the Declaration of Independence. We acquire insights about our friends, students and teachers from their slants, shapes, dots and crosses. In addition, who among the 40-and-over crowd can forget the impact of reading the Constitution or Emancipation Proclamation in its original form?
Cursive isn’t going down quietly. The state of Tennessee passed a law last year that requires cursive to be taught in public schools. Other states may follow. And some of America’s most successful corporations — Ford, Kellogg’s and Coca-Cola, among them — have used cursive to promote their brands for generations.
And what about Instagram? Even the imagebuilders of this ultra-modern, word-averse company created a logo that features its name … in cursive.
Neil Chethik, aka the Grammar Gourmet, is executive director of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (www.carnegiecenterlex.org) and author of “FatherLoss” and “VoiceMale.” The Carnegie Center offers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. Contact Chethik at neil@carnegiecenterlex.org or 859-254-4175.