<div><p>If you can find a student today who knows how to cursive write, I would be completely shocked. </p><p>It seems as though the loopy writing has skipped a generation whose main concern is how fast they can type on their smartphones. </p><p>Cursive writing is professional, efficient, and more aesthetically pleasing than regular printing, but it slowly got phased out of schools and in turn, every day life. </p><p>But some states are now making it mandatory for schools to teach kids how to cursive write. As of now, there are 14 states that have these laws, with New York City just strongly encouraging teachers to implement it. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/maxresdefault-11_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>YouTube</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Nicole Malliotakis, a New York state Assemblywoman, knew there was a problem when she asked an 18-year-old to sign his name at a voter registration event. </p><p>"I said to him, 'No, you have to sign here,'" Malliotakis <a href="https://apnews.com/394fee6e3aec4cc29d04c1998df9ad70">said</a>. "And he said, 'That is my signature. I never learned script.'"</p><p>That's when Malliotakis knew there was a problem. She took her concerns to city education officials and has now helped to implement cursive writing education in schools across the state. </p><p>There is evidence that suggests learning cursive writing helps students spell and construct sentences because they "don't have to think as much about forming letters." </p><p>But for Malliotakis, it's much more basic than that. </p><p>"If an American student cannot read the Declaration of Independence, that is sad."</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/Declaration_OldType72.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Schools admittedly dropped cursive writing from their curriculum, choosing to focus more on technology and computers. But it seems the third graders who <em>are</em> learning how to write in longhand are thoroughly enjoying their experience. </p><p>Norzim Lama says he prefers it to printing "'cause it looks fancy." </p><p>Camille Santos said cursive "is actually like doodling a little bit."</p><p>Overall, it can't hurt to teach kids how to write in cursive. If anything, it may encourage them to write more in their spare time. </p><p>Do you like the decision to bring cursive writing back into schools? Let us know!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>