Cursive writing will be reintroduced to Ontario elementary schools as a mandatory part of the curriculum starting this September.
This comes following a report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that said the public education system was failing students with reading disabilities by not using evidence-based approaches.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says cursive writing goes beyond learning to write a signature.
“The research has been very clear that cursive writing is a critical life skill in helping young people to express more substantively, to think more critically, and ultimately, to express more authentically,” he said in an interview, according to the Canadian Press.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, to create a very talented generation of young people who have mastered the fundamental skills, like reading, writing, and math, that are the foundations of any successful productive life in the country,” he added.
He goes on to say that this move is the result of listening to the voice of many parents who wanted a return to some traditional practices, as well as a renewed focus on phonics.
Cursive writing was previously relegated in 2006 as an optional piece of learning in Ontario elementary schools.
Cursive is set to make its return to schools starting in Grade 3.
A focus on phonics will also be implemented in kindergarten, as well as typing lessons in Grade 4.
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