Education Week - November 2, 2016 - 25

LETTERS to
the EDITOR

Cursive Writing Reflects 'Energy,
Emotion, and Vitality' of Thoughts
To the Editor:
I write regarding the Curriculum Matters blog post
"Why Don't the Common-Core Standards Include
Cursive Writing?" (edweek.org, Oct. 10, 2016), which
addresses the elimination of cursive writing from the
common core.
I am a teaching artist. Drawing-the moving line-
was our human communication millennia before a
written language tradition. All of writing involves
forming letter shapes, and when those shapes are
joined, they become expressive with energy, emotion,
and vitality.
We have 10 amazing tools at the ends of our arms
for a reason: the articulate expression of our thoughts.
My grandmother, who grew up in Czarist Russia, could
only sign her name with an "X," and I worry that our
children are only one click away from this functional
illiteracy. Please bring back cursive!

candidates through deep reflection that focuses on both
the academic and social-emotional learning of young
children.
In teacher-preparation programs, it's important to
develop new teachers' cultural competence as a way to
acknowledge the home and community cultures of both
teacher-candidates and the children they will soon be
teaching.
Guiding teacher-candidates to examine their
philosophies and belief systems about teaching
and learning helps them become self-aware,
nonjudgmental, and inclusive of the cultural diversity
of their future students. It is possible, for example, for
preschool teachers to become aware of their biases and
to conquer them as they work to create child-centered
environments that respect diversity and communicate
high expectations to all young learners.
As part of this process, we need ongoing professional
development for all early educators that addresses
cultural competence and anti-bias teaching approaches
to ensure that the youngest students grow in all areas
of their development.
High-quality teachers can make a difference in
children's early years; the impacts of successful
teaching during a student's first five years in the
classroom may last a lifetime.
Ayn Keneman
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator
Early Childhood Program

Betsy Glass
Pleasantville, N.Y.

Teri Talan

Anti-Bias Training for Early Educators
Should Be a Common Thread
To the Editor:
Regarding "Yale Study Probes the Complexity of Bias
in Preschool" (Early Years blog, edweek.org, Sept. 28,
2016), we believe it is important to keep in mind that
early educators need support in understanding the
family and community context of young children's lives,
as this context may relate to childhood behaviors-
especially when the teacher and child are of a different
race. This is why we at the National Louis University,
in Chicago, thread culturally relevant pedagogy
through all of our coursework, supporting our teacher-

Michael W. Louis Endowed Chair
McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership
National Louis University
Chicago, Ill.

PRESIDENT & CEO Michele J. Givens
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Gregory Chronister
MANAGING EDITOR Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Charles Borst

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS
Mark W. Bomster, Kevin C. Bushweller,
Lesli A. Maxwell, Anthony Rebora, Debra Viadero

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Swikar Patel

COMMENTARY EDITOR Elizabeth Rich

PHOTO INTERN Kristen McNicholas

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Karen Diegmueller
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sean Cavanagh,
Catherine Gewertz, Stephen Sawchuk
ASSISTANT EDITORS Liana Heitin, Alyson Klein,

www.edweek.org/go/guidelines.

SENIOR ONLINE NEWS PRODUCER Michael Bock
ONLINE NEWS PRODUCERS Chelsea Boone,
Hyon-Young Kim

STAFF WRITERS Evie Blad, Daarel Burnette II,
Benjamin Herold, Corey Mitchell, Michele Molnar,
Arianna Prothero, Denisa R. Superville
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Caralee Adams,
Kathryn Baron, Michelle R. Davis, Emmanuel Felton,
Marva Hinton, Brenda Iasevoli, Bryan Toporek,
Mark Walsh, Jaclyn Zubrzycki
COMMENTARY ASSOCIATE Kate Stoltzfus
EDITORIAL INTERNS Belén Bonilla, Leo Doran,
Alex Lenkei, Eric Sumner
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING,
LIVE AND VIRTUAL EVENTS Matthew Cibellis
LIVE AND VIRTUAL EVENTS INTERNS
Lea Silverstein, Martin Slezak

Getty

TEACHER

We should move beyond the rhetoric of "safe
schools" for LGBT students, says author Michael
Sadowski in an online-only essay, and move
toward celebrating and affirming their identities.

What can schools do to help new teachers
better adapt to the profession? A recent
Teaching Ahead roundtable examines the
support teachers need to thrive.

www.edweek.org/go/safe-schools

Madeline Will
INTERN, Education Week Teacher
Kristine Kim

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www.edweek.org/go/assessments

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The assessments in today's K-12 public schools are ineffective and unfair
to the teachers, argues Matthew Lynch in his Education Futures blog.

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www.edweek.org/go/commentary

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Education Week takes no editorial positions, but
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| WEB COMMENT |

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"

SURVEY ANALYST Michael Osher

RESEARCH ANALYST Alexandra Harwin

Schools can foster the reason, empathy,
and social responsibility vital to democracy."
- Arthur Camins, responding to Marc S. Tucker's Commentary "Trump,
Fox News, and Educating the American Voter"

www.edweek.org/go/voter

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EDUCATION WEEK | November 2, 2016 | www.edweek.org/go/commentary | 25
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Education Week - November 2, 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - November 2, 2016
