Handwriting: Should it continue to be taught?

[bchampnd]

Handwriting absolutely should be continued to be taught in schools. The rise in the use of computers in the classroom is not a good thing for the educational process. Computers can be used for good things such as power point presentations and other visual aids. However, they should not be used for taking notes. The level of retention is not nearly as high when typing when compared to handwriting notes and the temptation of twitter, facebook and the rest of the internet is likely too tempting for most students. If you put them in front of computers full-time, you're just asking them to be distracted.

Some firsthand experience: As an undergrad, I never ever used a laptop in class (in fact, most professors expressly prohibited them from being used). I took all of my notes by hand. In law school, I experimented with using my laptop and ultimately ended up using a laptop to take notes in the vast majority of my classes. (That, however, is because law school sucked and law professors don't really teach you anything about the material so much as they teach you that you better do your work before class so you don't look like an idiot if they call on you.)

I can say that when I wrote my notes by hand, I retained way more information than I ever did just typing notes on my laptop. Part of that may be because I can type way more words per minute than I can write (and I'd say that that is the case for most people) and therefore I just copied down most of what the professor said. When I wrote my notes by hand, I had to be more selective so I parsed out what mattered and what didn't which made me much more engaged in a lecture or a discussion.

Working as an attorney, I started taking notes by hand but then tried computerizing the process. I made a form that I could easily fill in for each of my cases. While I was able to input the data more quickly, I found that I was able to recall a great deal more about the cases on which I took notes by hand than about those about which I took notes on my computer. As a result, I now went back to taking notes exclusively by hand.

As for the cursive thing, I use cursive but I think that it's a matter of personal preference. I just find it much more fluid which makes it easier to take notes. They should still teach it in school so then children have the option of using it but they can also abandon it after the 3rd grade like the majority of the population chooses to do.

 

[Cazza]

I have very poor fine and gross motor skills. So my handwriting is very bad. I went to Occupational therapy for around two years. We saw very little improvement. Having bad handwriting sucks. If I want to write something for someone eg notes. I need to spend a lot of time on it so it's readable. Otherwise I might as well tell them/read it to them.

Handwriting should be taught. A nation with poor handwriting makes it harder to communicate. Disadvanging them.

 

[Espsychologist]

I would say yes, but I would lack the smarts to really explain why. It's important just because...

I guess it's important to be self dependant and not be tied to a machine to get your words across.

Seems you were plenty smart enough to use simple words that everyone could understand. After all, the reason you give is the single most important for people continuing to learn to write.

 

[Blow_Pop]

When you say hand-writing, do you mean cursive, or the act of writing stuff with one's hand?

If the former, christ no, all cursive does is make your text unreadable. If the latter, of course it bloody should, we're not living in the matrix just yet.

I've been printing since primary school; my writing may not be pretty, but it's very legible. I can't say the same for most people who's writing I've seen.

I've actually seen people with very pretty cursive. Hell IF I take my time mine is very nice. Might be a girl thing though. My writing unless for something like a job application is very illegible. (Ask anyone who has ever gotten a letter from me or maybe one of these days I'll scan in something I've written)My signature is always an illegible mess.

OT: Aye. Handwriting should be taught. Because it is an important skill to have in life. That being said I know people who can't write well. Who were taught all through school and just never learned..

 

[zehydra]

It should continue, just because it's always useful to have more than one way to communicate.

 

[rutger5000]

Okay after having read some of the comments on this post I feel I should reply to those.
The phenomena of text speach is not the fault of technology and messaging, it's either because people want to save space in an actual text message, they want to seem cool, or they are completly stupid. Technology is not to blame for either of those three, and though I do believe children ought to be thaught how to write. I don't think that it's fair to assume text speach will come up if you replace writting by typing, and even when it did teachers could easily prevent it.

 

[rutger5000]

Even if we move into solely using computers instead of pen and paper you can bet major bucks on the replacement being a tablet PC that lets you write normally.

For example i'm doing a physics degree and that means a lot of equations being written out. I've tried using one of the programs designed for that kind of thing but i find i can work 10 times faster with a pen and paper.

Amen brother, I flat out refused an supporting teacher when he said he wanted our work typed out.

 

[omega 616]

No, that's honestly completely idiotic.

Relying on technology like computers is foolish. Writing with Pen and paper is just plain simpler.

It reminds me vaguely of the US trying to make a pen that wrote in space while the Russians just used a pencil. This is a similar principal.

The reason why is quite important though, bit of graphite snaps off and gets into some circuits ... it could cause problems.

The funny part is a normal biro would have worked in in space, rather than spending money making something else.

To be honest, I think hand writing is only used to sign for stuff these days. I can't actually remember writing anything for a long time now.

I guess there is addresses but they can be printed out on printed out letters. Writing books is easier and cleaner on a computer, no smudging it with your hand and correcting mistakes is easier as well. Most fonts are clear and easy to read (fuck off wingdings ...) unlike mine and a lot of other peoples hand writing.

I think the sooner we get with the whole data pad thing like mass effect or star trek the better.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

See, there's a difference between handwriting and calligraphy. One is merely a practical skill, and the other is a form of art. Handwriting is only interested in getting the information onto the page, while calligraphy actually studies the aesthetics of handwritten text and goes into great detail by studying execution, style, history, and materials, as well as the basics of design and typography. It's like the difference between writing and drawing. One is necessary to certain aspects of life, one is not.

So you can see my stance on this. There are still countless situations in life where you need to be able to write something, whether it's your name, a check, or a quick note. So until we hit a point in society where something with a keyboard, or any other digital device on which you can take down information, is as readily available as paper, we are going to need handwriting. Sure tablets and smartphones are nice, but they cannot compete with the convenience, price, and flexibility of use as a simple Post-it note. After all, you can't just write a note out on a tablet and leave it there for someone else to see. Unless of course you have a fancy tablet that has a printer, but oh what if you're out of paper or ink, or there's a jam or an error? Then you're just screwed. Sure would be a great time to know how to write, huh?

See? Bearing that in mind, I doubt we're EVER going to hit a point where handwriting is COMPLETELY obsolete. Its use will continue to decline of course, but I doubt its need will ever hit zero.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

When you say hand-writing, do you mean cursive, or the act of writing stuff with one's hand?

If the former, christ no, all cursive does is make your text unreadable. If the latter, of course it bloody should, we're not living in the matrix just yet.

I've been printing since primary school; my writing may not be pretty, but it's very legible. I can't say the same for most people who's writing I've seen.

yeah this, for how much i hate english/grammar/literature as a class in school, i do recognize that the basics are absolutely crucial.

handwriting so you can write legibly? you bet your ass it should be.

cursive or any other means? nope, fucking useless shit is useless.

 

[Hipsy_Gypsy]

I definitely think we should. I did in primary school but to be hoenst that was just learning how to write in joint. My hand writing is absolutely God-awful and illedgible even to me at times.


x

 

[Jonatron]

I got taught a whole lot of handwriting but it never stuck. Hours upon hours of enforced work that I hated gave me my absolutely awful handwriting skills. Legible (barely), all my high school teachers told me to try and get it fixed, never bothered. Now, I'll be typing all my uni work, coding and any essay work I may get. Funny thing is, I'm fine at sketching and illustrating, just not handwriting. Screw hand writing.

 

[Jodah]

I would rather not be screwed when a solar flare knocks the electricity out for weeks (its happened before) or something worse happens. Its already bad enough that most people can't do basic math.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Bwuh? Don't they teach you handwriting in primary school, in years one and two and shit? Of course it should be taught. It makes a nice change from playing connect-the-dots, or whatever other shitty pointless crap they make you do in school at that age.

 

[WaywardHaymaker]

I write stuff by hand every day. I type things, too, but it's still good to just lie on my bed and handwrite a story or a script or something.

And it would be kind of strange typing up a grocery list.

 

[Kryzantine]

There's a difference between handwriting and caligraphy here.

As has been mentioned in this thread already, writing in cursive is just.... I don't know. Part of me thinks that people still write in cursive, and so we should teach reading in cursive. And certainly, learning a signature is still very important to us. But at the same time, most people forget cursive writing. I know that when the SAT asked you to write a statement in cursive as part of a bureaucratic process, it was probably the most annoying part for me, because I didn't know certain characters in cursive. I had used basic letters for fucking forever to that point. And certainly, with most work being computerized, cursive is becoming less important.

Now, the article in the OP is on China. And let me tell you, that class is necessary. It's not just handwriting, it's their fucking alphabet. The question that should be raised from that article isn't if we need to continue teaching handwriting, but whether the Chinese should adapt a more convenient alphabet - after all, the whole world is computerizing here, and the Chinese alphabet is highly inefficient for such work - yet, their written language is spreading just as fast, if not faster than English. Certainly, you may find Chinese in very popular use all over Southeast Asia and certain parts of Africa, and you'll find it spreading through Africa, Pakistan, Russia. It'll be interesting to see the economic consequences of this cultural shift.

 

[sansamour14]

Seeing as my handwriting is as neat as captchas i wouldnt mind.
But i do still like to write quick notes down if my phone isnt near me.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Given that this is a thread about handwriting, I think I'll actually hand write this post. For those of you with a tough internet cap and don't want to open a 750x750 (81.9k) image, I'll go ahead and type it up as well.

Spoiler: Hand written reply

Spoiler: Typed transcript

I'm a firm believer in a jack-of-all-trades talent set, honestly. Perhaps not to the degree of knowing how to rebuild a car engine or do the plumbing for a house, but at least be able to change a blown fuse or tire, or replace a leaky faucet or pipe.

In the same vein, I encourage some basic teaching of both print and cursive writing. Like proper shot leading or situational awareness in an RTS or FPS, practice makes the task much more simple and instinctive. With enough practice, it comes about as quickly as typing, probably losing only about 20 words-per-minute at most.

Really, it's just a useful skill to keep. Doesn't have to be religiously practiced and drilled, but there's no harm in being able to do it passably.

Same for spelling, grammar, penmanship, and basic communication. It's not that any of it needs to be perfect, but having the basics down can't do any harm.

Just my two cents.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Oh dear lord. Handwriting must be taught somehow, I know many people with illegible handwriting. One of my housemates is an engineering student, and as you would expect, his handwriting is gibberish.

 

[Trivun]

I'm not going to add more to the 'handwriting in schools' debate here save for my opinion that yes, it should still be taught, because all my points have already been mentioned in this thread.

However, I will simply say that in Japan at least, writing is actually considered an artform. I'm trying to teach myself Japanese and when settling down to learn the hiragana, my teaching tool informed me that the writing styles are all seen as art and that when you do them wrong anyone in Japan will instantly know. I don't just mean using the wrong symbols, but things like the exact order in which you make each stroke with the pen. For example, the symbol for 'u' is a line above a sideways curve - if you do the curve before the line, it's pretty easily recognisable, believe it or not. The general rule is that you start with strokes from the top left hand corner and work your way down to the bottom right hand corner, kind of like general Western writing...