So the question is, should handwriting officially become a thing of the past? Something we might have to do very rarely but generally forgotten? Yes, according to Oberlin College associate professor Anne Trubek.
Trebek feels handwriting is too slow a technology for our pace of life and paying so much attention on the skill/art in classrooms is a waste of time.
She makes some valid points, with a 2007 U.S. Department of Education study finding that teachers spend on average 10 minutes a day on handwriting, reportedly up to 15 this year, Trubek says ”people seem to think that school kids should be spending more time honing their mastery of the capital G.”
She argues, “typing in school has a democratizing effect, as did the typewriter. It levels the look of prose to allow expression of ideas, not the rendering of letters, to take center stage.”
“Does having good handwriting signal intelligence? No, not any more than it reveals one’s religiosity” she continues. “But many teachers make this correlation: It is called the ‘handwriting effect.’ Steve Graham, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies handwriting acquisition, says that “teachers form judgments, positive or negative, about the literary merit of text based on its overall legibility.”
So what say you? You should handwriting as a formal part of education be done with? Should it be left to the parents to teach their kids this fundamental tool that really isn’t used all that much, on paper at least? Is it worth 15 minutes of every childs early schooling years? Should every formal official document be typed and signed electronically?
Read a study that pointed out different thing -> handwriting is not only about expressing something on paper but a development of fine hand skills and focus of kids. And another thing -> it’s really not a good idea to completely rely on machines. Taking notes on paper by hand is significant part of creating, machines are distracting.
I’m mildly dyspraxic. As a result, my writing is a bit slower and a bit less legible than my peers. Typing is a godsend. It allows me to express my views clearly and coherently, and at speeds greater than even the fastest handwriters can achieve.
Children should be taught in school how to write fast and legibly – it’s a useful skill. But it shouldn’t be over emphasised, kids should not be made to feel bad about themselves if their handwriting is untidy, and people’s work should not be thought less of on the basis of handwriting. For that reason, I think it would be a good thing if at some point in the future, typing became standard in exams both at school and college levels.
I gave up on handwriting about 25 years ago in 9th grade when I learned to type. Seriously, my handwriting is so bad I can’t even read my own writing.
As an architect I link handwriting/typing to drawing/modelling. Not having research this subject scientifically I still believe that, akin to drawing, handwriting still stimulates the thought process far more than an automated system.
For writing already thought out texts, typing apps like word can indeed be more efficient and for final submission papers an uniformed presentation template will bring into focus the content more than the form.
However I feel that, as with most things, this is a case of using the tools more appropriate to the task at hand, and as a research and creative tool I find the drawing/handwriting paradigm to be the more adapted.
I was so distracted by your spelling error i didn’t even read the rest of your post. “One college professor things so” Things? or Thinks?
Is it time to give up on spellcheck? The author of this blog post things so!
Even I gave Up the Handwriting 5 years ago
Who says we all have the same pace of life? If that’s her whole argument for giving up handwriting…please…Just a couple of minutes ago I wrote a weekly report in my daughter’s schoolbook for kindergarten. By hand, I like it that way. No blog, twitter, social network or what have you to correspond with the teacher. But writing it down. Why? Because that is the way it works for them. Does that mean they are slow? No, it’s just a different way of seeing things. Not everybody is hyped up to the latest and greatest and feels they must be typing everything.
The lowest grade I ever received on my report card was a D in penmanship.
if handwriting was removed it is another creative skill removed from our heritage.
hand-written notes are more personal than email.
and for me, it’s much faster to go through hand-written notes than printed text.
I believe that there are at least four arguments in favor if its retention. First, handwriting is democratizing. One doesn’t always have a laptop available to take notes. Indeed, many people don’t even own laptops. In contrast, all that is needed for handwriting is a piece of paper and a writing instrument. Second, it’s a means of determining authenticity. It’s much more difficult to forge a handwritten signature (on a check, for example) than one printed in block letters. Third, it is more efficient to take notes on paper using handwriting instead of block letters. Finally, it is elegant. I think it is much more personal to receive a handwritten thank-you note than one that is printed or typed .
Way to go, deleting all comments so far! You corrected the title, ok, but you still have a lot of errors on the text. You would have done better leaving the comments… oh well…
On my deleted post I did not even make any mention to your errors, only a thought out argument about the issue. Good to know it ended up in the trash bin. No real incentive in posting more ideas. Have a nice day!
One professor does not a policy make. Handwriting will be around long after we are gone.
Dude, we just installed Disqus and for some reason it has yet to import all the comments in. So give your sarcastic lip a rest will ya before jumping to conclusions?
Every time I see an article saying we should stop teaching handwriting especially cursive they have one thing in commom. They quote Ann Trubek. As you state in your article title ONE professor thinks this way. Try checking out Jeanetter Farmers work on the brain at http://www.retrainthebrain.com and learn why handwriting is needed.
My handwriting has always been dreadful. As a kid, I hated writing because I hated the physical process. I hated writing despite being very verbal. I hated writing despite being an avid reader. By the time I was in fourth grade, I was reading faster than my teachers. But I couldn't write as fast as I could think. And my spelling was not great and all I could think of when I got papers back was the red ink, the errors. Never gave a thought to the content, not as a kid. Then, at age 35, I got a Macintosh computer and a touch typing tutor program. In three weeks, I was typing. In three months I was working as a freelance writer. It all came flooding out of me, like a dam had broken. That dam was the kludgy interface of handwriting. It's a stupid thing to waste your time on as anything but a charming old craft. Oh, it can be lovely, but for the most part it is NOT the important part.
I think kids need some basics on handwriting. But once you get to second or third grade bump them up to a keyboard, if you can afford to do so. Don't waste more time on the manual skill. Give them word processors with spell checkers so the ideas can come fast and furious. When they realize they have something to say, they'll follow up on the spelling and grammar if they need it.
I think handwriting should definitely still be included, just like basic math. Sure we can use a calculator, but we should know how to have basic skills in case for whatever reason computers aren't around, and handwriting is a pretty basic skill.
TYPED>Handwritten
Even rough drafts don't really need to be handwritten. Shouldn't it be preference if anything?
In all seriouness hand writing is still a skill people need to at least have basic skills in. In my profession (power engineer) legible hand writing is a nessicity as we need to complete formal handwritten records in the form of daily logs. These are classed as legal documents. The exams for becoming a power engineer also have a long hand essay portion to achieve you designation.