COLUMN: Think Again – Handwriting has many benefits for students

A CBC story last month reported that first and second grade students at Hume Elementary in Nelson, B.C. are learning how to handwrite. Some have become so good at it that they are winning awards in national handwriting contests.

Unfortunately, Hume Elementary is the exception rather than the rule. While cursive writing used to be mandatory in all schools, it has now, in many cases, been downgraded to an optional novelty.

That’s unfortunate. Students who never learn how to handwrite are missing out on important learning opportunities.

Research shows that there are many benefits from learning how to handwrite. Professor emeritus Hetty Roessingh at the University of Calgary and an expert in language and literacy, conducted significant research on handwriting throughout her academic career. In one study, she found that handwriting assists young students to recognize letter shapes and plays a fundamental role in their development as readers.

In other words, students are more likely to learn their letters at a younger age if they practice handwriting. That’s because writing letters by hand activates the brain considerably more than simply pushing buttons on a keyboard. It also helps transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Researchers have discovered similar results in adults. For example, a 2025 report published in Life (Basel) synthesized the findings of 30 peer reviewed journal articles comparing the brain activity of adults when they were handwriting to when they typed letters on a keyboard. They found that handwriting activates a broader network of brain regions while typing resulted in more passive cognitive engagement. In other words, the brain is more active when handwriting than when typing.

Laptops also made it too easy for students to transcribe lectures almost word-for-word without having their brains work the ideas over. Consequently, students who typed had a worse understanding of the material.

Thus, students in all schools, not just those at Hume Elementary, would benefit from learning how to handwrite. Principals and teachers should look at how they can bring back this important skill to help all students learn more effectively.

In addition, the fact that handwriting helps students learn their letters means that they are also likely to become better readers. This is yet another reason why handwriting should be taught in every school.

Critics argue that handwriting is as obsolete as the dodo bird. However, they are wrong. Whether you are signing a legal document, deciphering an old handwritten letter in your drawer, or even just taking notes during a university lecture, there are plenty of times where handwriting comes in handy.

Incidentally, research shows that students who take notes by hand are more likely to remember the material than students who type their notes on a laptop. As noted earlier, writing notes by hand activates the brain more than typing letters on a keyboard. Thus, if you want to remember something, write it down by hand. Don’t just type it out.

In short, all students, not just those at Hume Elementary, should learn how to handwrite. Instead of looking at handwriting as a curious novelty, it should be recognized as a fundamental skill.

It shouldn’t be left up to a handful of individual teachers to keep handwriting alive. Principals and superintendents across the country would do well to consider how they can ensure that all students learn how to write by hand.

Learning is hard work because our brains are not naturally wired for the foundational skills of reading and writing. To master these skills, they must be taught, regularly practised, constantly evaluated and reinforced.

Handwriting isn’t just a novelty; it’s a valuable skill. Let’s treat it as such.

Michael Zwaagstra is a teacher and deputy mayor of Steinbach. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.