Jan. 3, 2026

EP 008 Why Did Schools Stop Teaching Cursive? Hidden Truth or Just Change? | cursive writing ban | educational modernization | historical disconnect

Show Notes

Disconnecting Generations from Their Written Past

Episode Summary

Tracy Brinkmann explores the removal of cursive writing from school curricula, questioning whether this shift represents educational modernization or a deeper agenda to disconnect future generations from their historical roots. This episode examines the cognitive, cultural, and potentially ideological implications of phasing out this once-essential skill.

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Key Discussion Points

The Official Modernization Narrative

Schools prioritizing digital literacy over cursive to prepare students for a technology-driven future
The argument that handwriting is becoming obsolete in an age of keyboards and touchscreens
Educational focus shifting toward coding and digital communication skills

The Historical Disconnect Theory

Centuries of historical documents, personal letters, and important writings rendered unreadable to future generations
The Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King Jr.'s handwritten notes becoming inaccessible
Creating a generational gap that limits access to primary historical sources

Cognitive Development and Learning Benefits

Research showing cursive's role in brain development and fine motor skills
Benefits for children with dyslexia through kinesthetic learning approaches
The connection between cursive writing and spatial concept understanding

The Balance Question

Whether technological skills and traditional foundational skills are mutually exclusive
The possibility of students mastering both historical document reading and modern app coding
Questioning if we're sacrificing essential building blocks for trendy innovations

Cultural and Ideological Implications

Patterns of societies dismissing traditional skills as outdated (clockmakers, blacksmiths)
The subtle shaping of culture through educational decisions
Potential disconnection from roots and increased reliance on digitally curated information

The Digital Dependency Scenario

Hypothetical 2050 digital outage revealing the advantage of traditional skills
The risk of becoming overly reliant on what's "fed to us digitally"
Loss of ability to question and investigate first-hand sources

Authority and Information Control

How generational skill gaps can alter perception of authority
The difference between questioning primary sources versus accepting digital narratives
The potential for educational decisions to serve ideological rather than purely academic purposes

Critical Questions Raised

Is this educational modernization or cultural engineering?
What happens when entire generations can't read their own historical documents?
Are we creating dangerous dependency on digital information sources?
How do we balance technological advancement with foundational cultural skills?

Notable Quotes

"By removing cursive from education, are we inadvertently creating a generational gap that limits kids from easily accessing this historical context?"
"What if these skills aren't mutually exclusive? What if you could have both an understanding of new technology and the old-school foundation of cursive writing?"
"Don't we risk becoming a bit too reliant on what's fed to us digitally, rather than questioning and investigating first-hand sources?"

Call to Action

Tracy encourages listeners to visit local libraries to examine historical cursive documents, make it a family project, and continue questioning what's being taught—and not taught—in schools and what that means for society.