Campaign for Cursive Launches Annual Cursive Writing Contest in USA and Canada
By: A.A. Cristi
The annual Cursive is Cool(R) contests are presented by the Campaign for Cursive(R), a committee of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) on National Handwriting Day. Each year, National Handwriting Day is celebrated on Jan. 23, the date associated with the birth of John Hancock.
Following National Handwriting Day, National Handwriting Week is celebrated around the world. Legend has it that Hancock, known for his large and showy signature on the U.S. Declaration of Independence, purposely enlarged his signature so "King George can see it without his spectacles." Campaign for Cursive(R) offers three contests: In the U.S. and in Canada (one for English writers, one for French). Grade 1-6 students have the chance to test their cursive skills. The Canada contest opened on January 11 with a deadline of March 3 and the USA contest deadline is March 17, 2017. Exciting new writing instruments, workbooks, learning methods and accessories will be awarded to winners. Supporters of the contest include Amsterdam Printing, CursiveLogic, eeBoo, Dixon Ticonderoga, Domtar, Fahrney's Pens, Laywine's, New American Cursive Penmanship, PaperPal, Pelikan, PEN World, Staedtler, and ThinkBoard. Contest judges are handwriting specialists and educators. Entries will be scored for legibility plus quality. Awards will be given for most creative answers. Winners will be notified in April and posted to the organization's social media channels. Theresa Ortega, Communications Chair for AHAF, says the social media channels get a lot of traffic: "People across the globe were amazed at the entries we received last year. It's wonderful to see positive comments on social media about the great work these students are doing. The cognitive benefits of learning cursive make for a perfect partner to today's technology as children go on to higher education or enter the workforce." "Last year entries we received entries from 13 states and this year we hope to increase the reach across the country. We love hearing from the kids about why they like to write in cursive," said Gayna Scott, Campaign for Cursive(R) chair. "Having our kids learn this lifelong skill is worth the 15 minutes a day to learn modern cursive. Research indicates that there are benefits for our children to learn cursive. Technology is important, too, one skill does not replace the other. So, have your kids enter the contest and tell us why they like to write in cursive, we think you will learn something too!" More information: http://www.cursiveiscool.com/.http://www.ahafhandwriting.org/sites/default/pdf/white-paper.pdf. About the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation:
The American Handwriting Analysis Foundation is a 501-(c)6 non-profit business organization, chartered and incorporated in California. Dedicated to the advancement of the handwriting sciences, AHAF promotes education for handwriting examiners at all levels of expertise and from all schools of thought. Information: http://www.ahafhandwriting.org/.
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