DESPITE most learning to use an iPad before they pick up a pencil, Swan Hill primary school students are still taught the art of cursive handwriting, with local school principals saying the skill remains an important building block of literacy.
Students at government schools learn the Victorian Modern Cursive Font style, and Swan Hill North Primary School principal Campbell McKay said that in his experience, young students embrace the ‘running writing’.
“Kids seem to love it,” Mr Campbell said.
“They all want their pen license… it’s a prized possession.”
Acting principal at Swan Hill Primary School Hayley Doyle said while cursive handwriting is an essential component of K-6 education under AusVELS, the emphasis on the cursive style specifically may not continue forever.
“We do still teach handwriting in some way, shape or form,” she said.
“Is it going to last long term?
“I don’t know.”
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (August 19).
