by Sheila Lowe
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law into effect once again making cursive training a requirement in the California school curriculum. This follows several other states recently doing the same. As one of the architects of the Campaign for Cursive, a committee sponsored by the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) while I was president, I am thrilled to celebrate this news. For the last 12 years the committee did a tremendous amount of hard work to help achieve this aim.
AHAF also sponsors the annual Cursive is Cool handwriting contest, which kicks off on National Handwriting Day, January 23, and ends April 15. If you have kids or grandkids in grade school or you are an educator in the lower grades, you can find out how to enter the contest here. Kids love to write in cursive. It makes them feel grown-up and special to be able to decipher a language that many adults these days cannot.
Why January 23?
January 23 is the birthdate of John Hancock, the guy who signed the American Declaration of Independence big and bold so King George could see it without wearing his spectacles! Every year on this date handwriting analysts join ink and pen manufacturers to remind the world of the continuing importance of handwriting.
AHAF has a free white paper on why handwriting is still important in a digital age. You are invited to download it. An earlier version is also available in six languages.
Bestselling author Sheila Lowe is a handwriting analyst. A certified forensic document examiner, she testifies in court cases. She also earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Psychology. Sheila’s first two books were nonfiction: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting of the Famous & Infamous. Her first mystery, Poison Pen, debuted in 2007. A starred review in Publishers Weekly kicked off the Forensic Handwriting suspense series. The books have all been #1 Amazon bestsellers.
