Upcoming workshop explores cursive writing debate. (file)

Ask a room full of people if teaching children to type on a keyboard is important and you’ll likely get little debate.

Ask the same crowd if those children should learn to write in cursive, and you’re likely to divide the room.

The topic is a heated one and will be explored at the Handwriting Without Tears Workshop Oct. 7 and 8 at the Embassy Suites in Birmingham. Proponents of cursive writing say children who don’t learn it can’t read historical documents. It’s faster, more efficient than printed handwriting and teaches fine motor skills, they say. Not to mention, studies have shown that children who write in cursive tend to outscore their print-only peers on standardized tests.

Opponents say cursive is outdated, takes too long to teach at the expense of other subjects and is no longer needed in today’s technology-advanced society.

Alabama lawmakers weighed in on the argument earlier this year and decided students should go back to the basics. They passed “Lexi’s Law” in May, requiring students to learn cursive by third grade. The law went into effect at the beginning of the school year.

“Children need to be able to sign a legal document. They need to be able to read historical documents. Cursive writing increases cognitive thinking and motor skills,” said state Rep. Dickie Drake, who sponsored the bill after his granddaughter, Lexi, said she wanted to learn “real writing.” “I’m not trying to replace keyboarding; I’m trying to add to it.”

On Friday and Saturday, educators from across the state will gather in Birmingham to learn new – and easier – ways to teach handwriting.

The workshop, being led by Carol Rushing-Carr, a pediatric neurodevelopmental treatment therapist, will focus on the importance of cursive education and how it has differs drastically from how the skill was taught in the past. The workshop will give teachers from preschool through fifth grade ideas and tools to teach children everything from how to hold and manipulate a pencil to how to write cursive in a fluid motion.

Handwriting Without Tears Workshop is Oct. 7 and 8. (file)

“We know that as much as 45 percent of an elementary student’s instructional day is spent on handwritten work, so handwriting is such a critical skill,” said Rushing-Carr, who will be the national presenter for Handwriting Without Tears, the organization hosting the workshop. “Writing impacts every subject area, even art. Even math. Studies have shown that retention is higher with paper and pencil.”

To learn more, please visit https://shopping.hwtears.com/category/birmingham-al-workshops.

WHAT:    Handwriting Without Tears Workshop

WHEN:    Oct. 7 and 8

WHERE:  Embassy Suites Birmingham-Hoover, 2960 John Hawkins Parkway