♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> HI AND WELCOME TO "INSIDE LOUISVILLE" WHERE WE INTRODUCE YOU TO THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS THAT MAKE UP KENTUCKY'S LARGEST CITY.

THERE WEEK MEET IRIS HATFIELD.

NOW YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD HER NAME BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN HER WORK.

SHE IS A HANDWRITING SPECIALIST OF MORE THAN 55 YEARS AND THE CREATOR OF THE NEW AMERICAN CURSIVE.

A CURSIVE HANDWRITING METHOD BEING TAUGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND HERE IN KENTUCKY.

BEGINNING THIS SCHOOL YEAR, CURSIVE HANDWRITING IS MANDATED IN ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN KENTUCKY, ONE OF AT LEAST 24 STATES THAT HAVE LEGISLATED CURSIVE INTO THEIR CURRICULUM.

WHILE CURSIVE WRITING NEVER TECHNICALLY WENT AWAY, THERE WAS A TIME FROM 2010 TO 2019 WHERE IT WAS NOT PART OF THE COMMON CORE CURRICULUM IN KENTUCKY SCHOOLS.

NOW JUST LAST YEAR, SENATE BILL 167 PASSED THAT REQUIRES CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION AND PROFICIENCY IN CURSIVE HANDWRITING BY FIFTH GRADE FOR ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN KENTUCKY.

WE EXPLORED THIS TOPIC IN DEPTH ON OUR RECENT EPISODE OF "EDUCATION MATTERS" WHERE CHRISTIE DUTTON SPOKE WITH THE SPONSOR OF THAT LEGISLATION.

>> JOINING US NOW IS SENATOR LINDSEY TICHENOR AND SHE SPONSORED A BILL REQUIRING CURSIVE WRITING TO BE TAUGHT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

SO SENATOR, WHY WAS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

>> WELL, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING THIS CAME TO MY ATTENTION, WE DOING A TOUR OF THE HISTORY MUSEUM AND WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT SOME OF THE ARCHIVES AND SAW THE KENTUCKY CONSTITUTION, THE ORIGINAL VERSION LAID OUT ON THE TABLE, A BEAUTIFUL DOCUMENT AND THERE WERE SOME OTHER PEOPLE ON THE TOUR WITH ME AND A LITTLE HIGH SCHOOLER, PROBABLY 15, 16 YEARS OLD MAYBE.

I SAID I BET YOU PROBABLY CAN'T EVEN READ THAT.

HE SAID I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SIGN MY NAME.

I THOUGHT OH MY GOSH, HAVE WE FALLEN SO MUCH FAR FROM THE BASIC SKILL THAT KIDS ARE NOT EVEN SIGNING THEIR NAME.

THAT BROUGHT ME BACK THE NEXT MORNING TO, WE WERE IN SESSION AT THE TIME AND I CALLED THE BILL DRAFTER AND SAID WE NEED TO GET CURSE I AM BACK.

HERE IS HOW WE NEED TO DO IT.

THANKFULLY IT WAS GRABBED UP IN THE SESSION AT THE LAST MINUTE AND WAS ABLE TO GET PASSED.

I THINK CURSIVE IS SUCH A FOUNDATIONAL SKILL AND AS I STARTED TO DO MORE RESEARCH, I STARTED TO DISCOVER HOW BENEFICIAL CURSIVE IS IN SO MANY WAYS.

IT HELPS WITH COMPREHENSION, OBVIOUSLY IT HELPS KIDS LEARN HOW TO READ.

HELPS THEM LEARN HOW TO SPELL.

IT HELPS WITH FINE MOTOR SKILLS AND IT HELPS BUILD NEUROPATHWAYS IN THE BRAIN TO HELP THEM MEMORIZE CONTENT, AND IT IS FASCINATING HOW MUCH CURSIVE HELPS AND IT'S JUST THAT CONTINUOUS MOTION OF CONTINUITY THAT IS STRENGTHENING THE BRAIN AND THE NEUROPATHWAYS AND HELPS WITH SO MANY THINGS.

>> A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD SAY KIDS ARE TYPING AND USING COMPUTERS AND PHONES AND NOT PUTTING PEN TO PAPER AS MUCH.

>> YOU THINK ABOUT JUST LEARNING TO HOLD A PENCIL AND WHAT THAT DOES, JUST FOR YOUR MUSCLES.

WHEN YOU TEACH A KID,000 TIE THEIR SHOE, RIGHT, ALL THOSE SKILLS, ALL THOSE MUSCLES, FINE MOTOR SKILLS OF BEING ABLE TO DO SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LOT OF ATTENTION.

YOU ARE MAKING YOUR BRAIN CONNECT WITH THOSE MUSCLES IN YOUR HAND TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE MOTIONS.

AND IT STRENGTHENS YOUR BRAIN AND IT BUILDS THAT PATHWAY.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A TYPING, AND THERE IS ACTUALLY BEEN A STUDY ON THIS IN 2020 THERE WAS A REALLY INTERESTING STUDY AND IT LOOKED AT THE BRAIN AND COMPARED, BY IMAGING, IT COMPARED WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE BRAIN WHEN THEY'RE TYPING AND WHAT IS GOING ON WHEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY PEN ON PAPER, WRITING IN CURSIVE AND THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE SUCH A HUGE BENEFIT WITH THAT CURSIVE WRITING AND BUILDING THE PATHWAYS THAT HELP KIDS TO MEMORIZE AND COMPREHEND INFORMATION.

THERE ARE A LOT OF STUDIES OUT THERE ABOUT CURSIVE WRITING AND WHEN YOU PULL ALL THAT TOGETHER, IT'S NOT JUST TO BENEFIT FOR A KID TO BE ABLE TO SIGN THEIR NAME.

OF COURSE THAT'S JUST A SKILL.

IT REALLY DOES LAY A GREAT FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING IN GENERAL.

>> IT MAKES ME THINK THAT EVEN ADULTS SHOULD BE WRITING CURSIVE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, PUTTING PEN TO PAPER.

WHY DID CURSIVE WRITING GO AWAY?

HOW DID IT GO AWAY IN SCHOOLS?

>> WELL, I THINK IT WAS 2010, COMMON CORE MOVED-- CAME DOWN FROM THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

AND IT GOT TAKEN OUT.

AND IN KENTUCKY STANDARDS, WE KEPT SOME LEVEL OF CURSIVE IN RECOGNITION OF LETTERS, BUT IT WASN'T REINFORCED.

SO WHAT WE'VE PUT BACK INTO OUR STANDARDS IS A REQUIREMENT OF PROFICIENCY BEFORE THEY GRADUATE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

SO BY FIFTH GRADE, THEY NEED TO BE PROFICIENT IN CURSIVE WRITING.

I THINK JUST THE ONSET OF TECHNOLOGY AND UTILIZING COMPUTERS MORE FREQUENTLY IN THE CLASSROOMS AND FOR DIFFERENT CURRICULUMS, I THINK THAT WAS PROBABLY WHY THEY JUST STARTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM IT AND IT WAS INTERESTING WHEN I FILED THE BILL.

I WAS JUST TALKING TO SOME OF MY DISTRICT LEADERS IN EDUCATION.

A COUPLE OF THEM DID SAY SOME THINGS LIKE IT'S ARCHAIC.

IT'S ANTIQUATED.

WE DON'T NEED IT ANYMORE AND I JUST ARGUE THAT IT DOES HELP STRENGTHEN THE BRAIN AND BUILD A FOUNDATION FOR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO LEARN WELL.

AND I'M HOPEFUL WE ARE GOING TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN LITERACY AS THIS GETS IMPLEMENTED.

>> THAT'S THE BIG GOAL, RIGHT?

HOW WILL WE KNOW IF IT IS IMPROVING READING SKILLS?

>> I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE IT IN A COUPLE OF YEARS AS KIDS GET THAT FOUNDATIONAL SKILL AND OBVIOUSLY THOSE EARLY YEARS OF LEARNING KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THIRD GRADE, I THINK ONCE THAT IS IMPLEMENTED WE ARE GOING TO START SEEING SOME DOTS CONNECTED IN A COUPLE OF YEARS WE ARE GOING TO SEE SOME OF OUR TEST SCORES GO UP HOPEFULLY.

>> THAT WILL BE NICE TO SEE.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, SENATOR TISCHER IN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND TALKING TO US ON THIS.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> IRIS HATFIELD IS A LOUISVILLE NATIVE AND A HANDWRITING EXPERT OF MORE THAN 55 YEARS.

AND A CREATOR OF THE NEW AMERICAN CURSIVE.

WELCOME.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

>> THANK YOU, KELSEY.

IT'S A DELIGHT TO BE HERE AND ESPECIALLY TO GET TO TALK ABOUT CURSIVE WRITING FOR OUR STUDENTS.

IT'S A WONDERFUL THING.

I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THEM.

>> WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU.

SO EXPLAIN, FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS A HANDWRITING EXPERT?

AND HOW DO YOU END UP IN THAT CAREER PATH?

>> WELL, I CALL MYSELF A HANDWRITING SPECIALIST BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT FACETS TO HANDWRITING.

AND EVEN FROM HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS SO FASCINATED WITH HANDWRITING.

I KNEW WE ALL LEARNED BASICALLY THE SAME PROGRAM, BUT OUR HANDWRITING WAS DIFFERENT.

AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS FASCINATING.

AND THEN WHEN I WAS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE LIBRARY, I FOUND THREE BOOKS ON HANDWRITING ANALYSIS.

AND I'M NOT SURE I BELIEVE THAT SO I THOUGHT I WOULD GET THOSE AND PROVE THEM WRONG.

WELL, I HAD TO EAT MY WORDS.

THERE WAS REALLY SOMETHING THAT IS REVEALED IN OUR HANDWRITING SO MUCH SO THAT I STARTED A BUSINESS AND 55 YEARS AGO AND HAVE HAD AN EXCITING CAREER STUDYING ALL OVER THE WORLD, TEACHING.

IT IS SO INTERESTING BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS A UNIQUE HAND WRITING.

>> THEIR OWN FLAIR.

>> Nicki: THEIR OWN FLAIR AND INDIVIDUALITY.

SO IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL CAREER.

SO FUN.

I'VE GOT TO MEET SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND IT IS JUST FASCINATING.

AND IT'S ALWAYS FUN BECAUSE EACH PERSON IS DIFFERENT.

>> YEAH, SO TELL US ABOUT THE NEW AMERICAN CURSIVE.

THIS IS THE CURSIVE HANDWRITING METHOD THAT YOU DEVELOPED AND WHAT IS IT AND HOW IS IT A LITTLE BIT-- IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM HOW YOU OR I PROBABLY LEARNED CURSIVE, RIGHT?

>> IT IS.

THROUGH ALL OF THOSE YEARS AND THE MORE THAN 50,000 HANDWRITING SAMPLES THAT WE HAVE ANALYZED, YOU HAVE HANDWRITINGS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND DIFFERENT WALKS OF LIFE, BUT I STARTED NOTICING THAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, THEIR HANDWRITING WAS DECLINING AND I THOUGHT WHY?

AND THEY WERE HAVING A HARD TIME COMMUNICATING WITH THE WRITTEN WORD.

25 YEARS AGO AND IT KEPT GETTING WORSE.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE THIS ABOUT: I GOT A TEAM OF SPECIALISTS, EDUCATORS; TEACHERS, GRAPHOLOGIST.

IT ALL HELPED AND WE DECIDED TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE HAD ASKED ME, HOW CAN I HELP MY STUDENT OR MY CHILD AND I COULDN'T FIND ANY PROGRAMS THAT I THOUGHT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE.

THE WAY I EVALUATE SOMETHING IS TO LOOK AT THE END RESULT AFTER THEY GO THROUGH THIS.

DO THEY HAVE GOOD HANDWRITING AND THAT'S HOW YOU EVALUATE A GOOD PENMANSHIP PROGRAM.

SO WE PULLED IT TOGETHER AND WE SIMPLIFIED THE PROGRAMS OUT THERE.

WE TOOK 21 EXTRA STROKES OUT OF THE REGULAR PROGRAM.

WE MADE IT SIMPLE, CLEAR, EASY TO LEARN, EASY TO TEACH AND IT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.

WE WERE SO PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS.

WE HAD A PENMANSHIP PROGRAM CONTEST.

ALL OF THESE CHILDREN SENT IN THEIR BEST HANDWRITING AND IT WAS WONDERFUL, EVEN FROM THE FIRST GRADE FORWARD.

WE EVEN HAVE KINDERGARTENERS WITH BEAUTIFUL HANDWRITING SO WE KNEW IT WAS SUCCEEDING WITH THE SIMPLIFIED PROGRAM.

WE SEEN MADE IT SO SIMPLE THAT IT ONLY TAKES THREE CONNECTIONS TO CONNECT THE WHOLE ALPHABET.

SO KIDS CAN LEARN HOW TO DO THAT.

AND WE MAKE IT FUN.

THE CONNECTIONS ARE A SMILE, THE GARLAND AND A GRIN FOR THE HIGH CONNECTIONS AND THE JUMP FROM THE LOWER AND SO THEY LEARN HOW TO WRITE BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLIFIED AND THEN WE WANTED IT TO BE VERY LEGIBLE AND SO WE CLEANED UP ALL OF THE LETTERS AND MADE IT LEGIBLE SO WE KNEW WE HAD SUCCEEDED WHEN TWO OF OUR STUDENTS WON THE WORLD PENMANSHIP CONTEST.

SO THAT WAS EXCITING.

AND ONE OF THEM WAS A FIRST GRADE GIRL AND SHE WAS LEFT HANDED SO WE WANTED IT TO BE LEFT HANDED FRIENDLY AS WELL AS RIGHT HANDED AND SO IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AND SO EASY FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN AND NOW THIS PROGRAM IS USED IN 24, AT LEAST STATES, RIGHT?

OR PROBABLY MORE BECAUSE THERE ARE 24 STATES THAT HAVE LEGISLATED CURSIVE BACK INTO THE CURRICULUM AND SO WE GET HANDWRITING SAMPLES FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

>> THIS IS A LOT EARLIER THAN I LEARNED AND YOU SAY FROM YOUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THEY SHOULD BE LEARNING VERY EARLY.

>> VERY EARLY NSM FACT WHEN WE RESEARCHED IT BACK WHEN PEOPLE REALLY HAD GOOD HANDWRITING ALL STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT CURSIVE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF SCHOOL, BEFORE THE 1930s ALL STUDENTS WERE TAUGHT CURSIVE.

WE THOUGHT IS THAT STILL POSSIBLE.

AND IT IS AND STUDENTS LOVE IT AND THEN IT DOESN'T TAKE UP SO MUCH TIME BY THE TIME THEY GET TO THE THIRD GRADE AND THEY HAVE BEEN PRINTING FOR SO LONG, IT'S HARD TO SWITCH.

AND THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU GET YOUNG PEEP THAT PRINT SCRIPT, A LITTLE PRINTING, A LITTLE... SO WE SIMPLIFIED ALL OF THE ALPHABET, THE HARD LETTERS LIKE THE CAPITAL T AND THE CAPITAL F. WE DID RESEARCH AND WE FOUND THAT 71% OF CURSIVE WRITERS PRINT THEIR CAPITAL F AND WE THOUGHT, WELL, WHY SHOULD WE FORCE FIRST GRADERS TO WRITE THAT.

LET THEM PRINT THE DIFFICULT LETTERS AND THEN LATER THEY CAN EMBELLISH, AS LONG AS IT'S LEGIBLE.

THAT'S THE CRITERIA.

>> SO IT'S, FOR PARENTS.

WHO MAY BE LEARNING ABOUT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

YOU WOULD SAY IT IS LESS FLOWERY THAN THE WAY WE LEARNED A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY IN THIS DIGITAL AGE WHEN MORE KIDS ARE ON A KEYBOARD THAN PUTTING PEN TO PAPER, WHY DO YOU SAY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT OF A SKILL?

>> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE WONDERFUL COMPUTERS AND THIS IS NOT TO REPLACE ANY OF THAT, OF COURSE.

IT COULDN'T NOW.

BUT IT NEEDS A BALANCE.

THEY NEED BOTH BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY ADVANTAGES FOR OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN CURSIVE.

JUST THINK WHAT IT REQUIRES FOR THEM TO PRACTICE CURSIVE.

IT HELPS THEM TO FOCUS.

THEY HAVE TO FOCUS.

IT SHOWS WHEN YOU WERE WRITTEN THE LETTER CORRECTLY.

PRACTICING ALLOWS THEM TO BE AWAY FROM THE SCREENS FOR A WHILE, WHICH IS GOOD FOR THEIR EYES.

IT HELPS WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL, WITH ACCURACY, WITH HAVING THEM TO BE PRECISE AND IT HELPS WITH WHEN THEY PRACTICE THOSE, THEIR READING SKILLS IMPROVE BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING AT THOSE LETTERS IT HELPS WITH SPELLING.

THEY SEE THE WORDS AS A WHOLE.

WHEN YOU WRITE AND IN CURSIVE OPPOSED TO A-N-AND THE SPACING, SO THEY GET THAT MUSCLE MEMORY IS HELPS WITH SPELLING, READING ATTENTION.

SO THERE ARE SO MANY AREAS THAT THEY ARE BEING TRAINED IN THAT HELPS IN OTHER, ALL OTHER SUBJECTS ACADEMIC SUBJECTS, THAT REALLY MAKES IT A BENEFIT.

AND THEN IT HELPS THEM PHYSICALLY.

IT REALLY HELPS MENTALLY.

THE STIMULATION OF WRITING.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY MORE DECISIONS PICKING UP THE PENCIL DIRECTLY AND WRITING IT.

WHERE DO I START AND HOW DO I SPACE IT OUT.

DO I HAVE ENOUGH ROOM AT THE END OF THE PAPER OPPOSED TO TAPPING ON A KEYBOARD.

IT STIMULATES THE BRAIN SO MUCH MORE AND YOU REMEMBER YOU REMEMBER MORE WHAT YOU WRITE THAN WHAT YOU TYPE AND TYPING IS NECESSARY.

WE ALL NEED THAT AND USE IT.

BUT IT NEEDS TO BE A BALANCE BECAUSE YOU, WRITING, IT'S LIKE ENGRAVING IT IN THEIR BRAIN.

YOU CAN SEE IT, FEEL IT, SMELL IT.

AND IT IMPRINTS IT ON THE BRAIN.

THE RETENTION WAS BETTER.

IN COLLEGE WERE THERE ALL KINDS OF STUDIES DONE WHERE WHICH IS BEST IF THEY TYPE ALL THEIR NOTES IN A LECTURE OR IF THEY WRITE THEM.

IF THEY ANALYZE THEM, FIGURE OUT WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT AND THEN WRITE THAT DOWN IT STIMULATES THE BRAIN MORE AND THEY DO BETTER LATER ON A TEST.

THERE ARE JUST SO MANY PRACTICAL BENEFITS WHERE EVEN THE PHYSICAL, THE HAND-EYE COORDINATION, REALLY STIMULATED WITH WRITING IN CURSIVE.

IT GETS THEM AWAY FROM THE SCREEN.

AND WE NEED THAT GOOD EYE-HAND COORDINATION FOR OUR DENTISTS, OUR SURGEONS, CAKE DECORATORS.

>> SURE.

>> IT'S IMPORTANT.

AND THEN THE EMOTIONAL.

WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT HAVE NOT LEARNED CURSIVE OR NOT WERE-- WERE NOT TAUGHT CURSIVE AND THEIR HAND PRINTING IS NOT GOOD.

THEY'RE ASHAMED OF THEIR WRITING.

THEY DON'T TEST WELL.

THEY DON'T WRITE VERY MUCH.

I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WHERE JENA, SHE GAVE US PERMISSION TO USE HERS BECAUSE SHE SAID IT HELPED ME SO MUCH.

AND SHE ENDED UP USING THE TEACH YOURSELF CURSIVE.

SHE WAS IN THE 11TH GRADE.

SHE DIDN'T USE THE SMALL BEGINNING BOOKS.

SHE USED THE TEACH YOURSELF CURSIVE BOOK.

AND OVER THE SUMMER, SHE TAUGHT HERSELF HOW TO WRITE IN CURSIVE.

AND IT'S DIFFERENT AS DAY AND NIGHT.

AND SHE-- SHE THEN ENJOYED WRITING.

SHE DID BETTER ON HER TESTS, AND WROTE MORE.

AND THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE WRITTEN WORD.

WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH AND DESIGNING THE WORKBOOKS, AS I SAID, WE LOOKED AT ALL OF THE PROGRAMS AND SOME OF THEM HAD SENTENCES THEY WROTE TO PRACTICE THEIR CURSIVE LIKE I LOVE EATING BOILS OF SPIDERS FOR BREAKFAST OR MY TEACHER, WHEN SHE SNEEZES, BUBBLES COME OUT HER EARS.

WELL, YOU THINK THERE IS PROBABLY BETTER THINGS THAT THEY CAN IMPRINT ON THEIR BRAIN, AND SO THE FIRST VERSION OF OUR WORKBOOKS, I USED THINGS THEY COPIED.

LIKE SCRIPTURE.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.

BE KIND TO OTHERS.

SO VALUABLE CHARACTER BUILDING STROKES.

AND THEN THE SECOND VERSION IS JUST QUOTES FROM AMERICANS, FAMOUS QUOTES.

AND THEY ARE ALSO CHARACTER BUILDING.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND SO WHEN THEY ARE PRACTICING, THEY ARE PRACTICING SOMETHING OF VALUE.

>> SURE.

>> AND THEY'RE LEARNING PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS ALONG WITH IT.

AND IT ONLY TAKES 15 MINUTES A DAY.

IT DOES NOT TAKE LONG TO LEARN CURSIVE.

>> RIGHT.

AND I THINK THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE WORRIES, I THINK, OF TEACHERS, WHEN THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A NEW MANDATE AND THAT IT HAS TO BE TAUGHT AT CERTAIN TIMES AND THEY'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON DURING THE DAY.

>> YES.

>> IT'S HARD TO FIT IN A WHOLE OTHER SUBJECT, BUT YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT IS IT'S NOT A WHOLE OTHER SUBJECT RIGHT?

>> IT CAN BE WOVEN INTO THE REST OF THEIR DAY.

NOW AT FIRST IT TAKES TIME.

WHEN THEY FIRST LEARN CURSIVE, TO PRACTICE THE LETTERS, BUT 15 MINUTES A DAY DOES IT.

HOWEVER, WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT TAKES PRACTICE FOR SPORTS, SOFTBALL, SOCCER.

IT TAKES PRACTICE, SO IT TAKES PRACTICE WITH PENMANSHIP AS WELL, BUT THEY CAN WEAVE IT INTO THE OTHER THINGS AND SO MANY TEACHERS HAVE TOLD ME I'M SO HAPPY THAT THEY HAVE LEARNED CURSIVE.

THEY'RE FASTER WITH THEIR SEAT WORK.

IT GIVES US MORE TIME FOR OTHER THINGS.

THEY ARE MORE FLUID AND THEY WRITE MORE BECAUSE OUR PROGRAM JUST MAKES IT VERY FLUID.

IT'S EASY, SIMPLE, AND MAKES IT EASIER FOR TEACHERS BECAUSE THE WRITING IS MORE LEGIBLE AND THAT'S OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.

>> RIGHT, RIGHT AND THEN THE KIDS LOVE IT.

WE MAKE IT FUN.

>> I IMAGINE IT ALSO BUILDS THOSE NOT ONLY BRAIN CONNECTIONS BUT CONNECTIONS WITH PAST GENERATIONS BAUGH I KNOW SOMETIMES KIDS, THEIR GRANDMOTHER WRITES THEM A NOTE AND THEY CAN'T READ IT.

>> EXACTLY.

>> OR HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS EVEN AS WELL.

>> YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT AND WE ARE LOSING THAT ABILITY, OR IF YOU ARE IN COLLEGE AND YOU ARE DOING RESEARCH AND OLD DOCUMENTS, AND YOU CANNOT READ.

WE SHOULD ALL BE TAUGHT HOW TO READ IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE.

SO MUCH SO THAT THEY PRACTICE WHERE IT'S MORE FLUID.

CURSIVE IS FASTER THAN THE STOP AND START OF PRINTING.

WE NEED BOTH.

THE STOP AND START OF PRINTING TAKES LONGER.

AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU CAN WRITE THREE LOWER CASE ES, RIGHT, THREE ES, AND THEN YOU WRITE IN CURSIVE THREE ES: WHICH IS FASTER?

CURSIVE IS FASTER AND SO IT MAKES IT EASIER, THEY GET MORE DONE.

>> THERE IS A LOT OF FOCUS, TOO, ON SCIENCE-BASED LEARNING NOW THAT WE ARE HAVING A LOT OF THAT RESEARCH AND WE ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT BETTER HOW STUDENTS BRAINS MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS.

I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN TALK OF THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE SCIENCE OF READING AND LITERACY, BUT SOME OF THE RESEARCH I'VE SEEN FROM YOU, WAS HOW IT MAKES THOSE NOT ONLY CONNECTING LETTERS BUT IT MAKES CONNECTIONS IN THE BRAIN THAT ARE GOING TO HELP WITH OTHER SUBJECTS.

>> EXACT LI.-- EXACTLY.

IT IS NOT JUST-- I WOULDN'T HAVE GONE TO ALL OF THIS TROUBLE JUST TO MAKE... >> PRETTY HANDWRITING.

>> WHICH IS NICE BUT IT NEEDS TO HAVE A LOT MORE BENEFIT AND IT DOES.

SO MUCH MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> NEW AMERICAN CURSIVE IS THE FOCUS OF A BRAND NEW RESOURCE FROM KET EDUCATION.

KET'S CURSIVE COLLECTION IS A COLLECTION OF VIDEOS THAT GUIDE STUDENTS STEP BY STEP TO PROPERLY WRITING EACH LETTER AND WE LINKED YOU TO THAT ON ket.org/"INSIDE LOUISVILLE."

IF YOU FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU CAN SEE HOW MY HANDWRITING STACKS UP WITH AN EXPERT'S ANALYSIS.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM AT KET IN LOU.

THANKS FOR SPENDING A LITTLE TIME GETTING TO KNOW LOUISVILLE.

I HOPE WE WILL SEE YOU HERE NEXT TIME.

UNTIL THEN WE'LL SIGN OFF WITH MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪