Are we ready to give up learning handwriting
Schools teach writing less and less each year particularly cursive. Keyboarding is being taught as early as Kindergarten. Even my 3 year olds understand that pressing the keys makes letters appear on the screen. Maybe it is time for handwriting to die.
Big deal. Everybody types everything in the real world. Why bother with handwriting at all? Think about it. When was the last time you handwrote anything for work?
Well, before you start patting yourself on the back with your 80+ words per minute typing speed think about this. When was the last time you brainstormed a project and did not handwrite everything? Free form writing still seems like an easier way to build ideas. You can write anywhere on the page at any angle. You can draw little pictures and easily connect ideas with little lines.
That just does not happen with a text editor. Using the best brainstorming software is awkward and slow which kills the momentum that you need when being creative. Some day soon, all computers will have pressure sensitive monitors and we will draw with a stylus. Which brings us back to needing to actually write letters. Maybe not cursive, but letters.
How many of you with terrible handwriting hate being in charge of writing down the brainstorming session on the white board? How many of you with great handwriting of tired of being the designated writer because nobody can read anybody elses handwriting?
There are a lot of places where the need for handwriting will be greatly minimized in the coming years as portable devices and keyboards become more integrated into our lives, but handwriting will always be necessary. After all, what will you do if you forget to charge your laptop overnight and need to take notes of your conversation with the client? How will you draw your friend better directions when you do not agree with MapQuest? How will you leave a note on a car if you accidentally throw a rock through the window after a football game?
I, for one, vote that we keep handwriting around for a while.
Tags: cursive, handwritingRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Career
1 opinion for Are we ready to give up learning handwriting
Grace
Oct 11, 2006 at 7:19 am
Less handwriting? Well, I should have figured that. But what you say about writing project ideas down is true. Putting it down on paper often would stem into another idea which would result into another thought and another. Hmmmm… Maybe I should work on putting down brainstorming ideas with my daughter so she gets used to it before she gets too engrossed with the computer (she’s only 6).
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