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BY ALEX BELCHER

You're watching multisource U.S. news analysis from Newsy.

The use of Cursive has been around since the 16th century.

But it’s about to become ancient history if the state of Indiana gets its way.  Here’s WXIN-TV in Indianapolis.

“These kids are working with a tutor at the library of words and letters.  Printing is obviously a fundamental but as this little girl moves to the third grade next year she won’t have to worry about doing it in cursive.  In a memo sent to school superintendents around the state toward the end of the school year, the department of Ed. wrote that cursive handwriting will no longer be taught in the court common state standards instead students will become proficient in keyboarding skills.”

So why is Indiana taking the controversial -- character -- leap? Deb Dudek, director of Title and Special Student Programs tells The Times of Munster—

“We're looking at the core academic standards and the new common core, and the fact that more testing will be online and how all of that will weigh in with cursive handwriting… It's not that there isn't a place for cursive writing, but the truth is that more students are using laptops, web books and other technology.”

Sure, we are moving into a more technological era but skeptics question the extinction of traditional handwriting.  A blogger for The Star Press says –

“One imagines new generations of young people, able to text at the speed of light, but unable to sign their names, whether on a check or at the checkout line at Walmart, using a stylus. Imagine a whole generation unable to hold a pen or pencil properly… Worse yet, if elementary students no longer learn to write using cursive, one wonders whether they will be able to read it.”

But according to the Indiana Department of Education memo, schools will have the option to either teach cursive as the local standard or decide to stop teaching it all together.

Teachers say they haven’t had time to teach students the fundamentals of cursive, which no longer makes handwriting it a top priority.  One education expert in Indiana called most students’ handwriting ‘atrocious.’

A writer for Time’s Newsfeed agrees with Indiana’s side saying this old-fashioned skill is not practical.

“Seems like a smart move as being able to type efficiently is a vital skill in today's world, as opposed to knowing how to write cursive, which — like being able to churn butter and knowing how to hitch a horse to a wagon — is no longer needed.”

The option of teaching cursive will go into effect this fall.

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