What we lose when we stop writing by hand

Students are spending less time learning handwriting. Here’s why it’s still an important skill.

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June 16, 2026 10:30am EDT

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When was the last time you wrote something by hand?

Thank-you notes and cursive may seem old-fashioned. (And does anyone practice their signature after they graduate junior high?) But the act of putting pen to paper shapes both how we express ourselves and how we understand the world around us.

Handwriting has long-term implications for how we learn and retain information. And yet kindergarten teachers spend as little as 10 minutes a week teaching it. Instead, students are honing their fine motor skills on keyboards and tablets at a younger age. As kids gain literacy in tech, what are they losing?

On Explain it to Me, host Jonquilyn Hill speaks to a special education teacher who has spent a ton of time with kids and the research. He says what started off as a nationwide initiative to help students prepare for the future may have actually set them back.

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—Jenny Lawton, editor, Explain It To Me