(File Photo: Source for Photo: Flo Young, originally from Cambridge, Mass., browses through a box of pen pal letters outside the Sullivan County Health Care nursing home in Unity, N.H., June 8, 2020. (AP Photo/ Charles Krupa, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania schools are now required to teach cursive handwriting under a new law. Governor Josh Shapiro made an announcement on social media yesterday that he signed House Bill 17 into law, using his “best cursive.” Pennsylvania State Representative Dane Watro, who is the sponsor of the bill, stated that cursive is a skill that is proven to boost cognitive growth while preserving a link to the past. However, the practice has fallen because of the growing technology of the present age. Warto cited studies that show writing in cursive activates brain regions tied to memory, language and critical thinking and listed several other benefits of cursive writing, expressing that it builds fine motor skills and improves coordination and dexterity.