​In today's technological world, electronic email and texting have taken over as the most popular mode of communication. Amid this change, literacy skills like cursive writing can be pushed aside or even someday forgotten. 

Nineteen Grade 3 students at Upper Miramichi Elementary School have been working hard to read and write in cursive. They began by learning letters and sight words in cursive at the start of the school year and then put their skills to use in February 2019 by writing letters to senior pen pals in their community. 

Teacher Amy Neal was inspired to bring the idea of corresponding with seniors to her classroom and she says the results have been amazing. With the help of community volunteer Olga Ross, there are now just as many seniors writing letters as she has students. 

"I overhead a grandmother speak about how her grandchild was unable to read the graduation card she had written to her in cursive and how upsetting this was to her," Neal explained. "This gave me the idea to ask some community members if they would be interested in helping my students learn to read and write in cursive by writing letters back and forth as pen pals. The community members have really enjoyed receiving letters from the students and everyday the students patiently wait for me to check the mail to see who has received a letter. They are very excited about this project."

Neal said the seniors enjoy telling the students stories about their youth which, in turn, becomes a history lesson for her students. 

"The project is building connections and helping bridge the gap between the school community and the community at large," she said. "I believe there are many rewards and benefits to this project, more than I ever expected there to be."

Neal strongly believes cursive writing will open many possibilities for her students in the future. They will know a broader form of communication that may someday become a dying art. They will also have the skills to sign their own personal signature to important documents they will need in adulthood such as a driver's licence or job application. 

The students plan to remain pen pals with the seniors in their community until the end of May and will then invite them into the classroom to celebrate the relationships formed and the lessons learned.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development says cursive writing is still taught in public school and remains part of the kindergarten to Grade 3 curriculum in the Anglophone sector with a primary focus on communication and developing writing skills. It is also taught in the Francophone sector in Grades 2-3.

The art of cursive writing is also currently the focus of a new exhibition at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John. The exhibition runs until May 26 and demonstrates how literacy skills in cursive remain valuable for researching handwritten historical or archived documents.

Shown in the photos below are (1) Upper Miramichi Elementary School students (left to right) Bentley Munn, Macey Legere, Marlie Lovelace and Payten Mallery with their letters; (2) Bentley Munn reading his letter from his pen pal; (3) Dominick Lyons holding a letter from his pen pal.