Handwriting in the Digital Age
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-07-28/handwriting-digital-age
A child starting kindergarten this fall might only study cursive writing in history class. A growing number of schools no longer require teachers to provide instruction in cursive. Those in favor of dropping “joined up writing” say teaching it is time consuming and can be easily replaced in a world of texting and word processing. Proponents say handwriting helps foster fine motor skills and other cognitive development -- and that taking pen to paper is not only a beautiful art form but can be a means of individual expression. Guest host, Susan Page, and her guests discuss the fate of handwriting and penmanship in the digital age.
Guests
Anne Trubek
Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Oberlin College
Kitty Burns Florey
author of "Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting"
Tracey Bailey
Director of Education Policy for the Association of American Educators and 1993 National Teacher of the Year
Karen Epstein
fourth grade teacher at Rockwell Elementary School in Montgomery County, Maryland
Comments
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It seems we're only considering practical uses. We don't tuly know what cursive accomplishes- it takes concentration, fine motor skills, but it also involves creating something they can be very proud of. We're losing the idea that creating -- which I'm sure the writers on the show are proud of their creative skills --is a very important and valuable thing.
What about the connection between the brain and the hand - I seem to think there's an important connection that occurs that we are not considering. It's not just about the result that lands on the page= it's also the process.
I have always been a letter saver.....now at the age of 60, I am returning these letters in bundles to the people who wrote them. Had these been e-mails, I would have had nothing to return and that would have been so sad. I do a lot of e-mailing and I find that I no longer receive 'letters' as much as 'notes'. All very brief and impersonal. Additionally, my parents saved a good share of the letters I wrote to them, she gave them to me recently and what joy to relive my children's early years through the stories I told in those letters.
Writing a 'real' letter is a skill learned along with cursive I am so afraid that when one does away with cursive, they will do away with the wonderful stories told in a good long letter.
Hi,
I am a special education teacher in NY state. I also am a reading specialist. Cursive is often a bonus to students who are dyslexic. It helps them avoid letter reversals. It also trains the brain in a way that printing and keyboarding do not.
My students are mainly high school seniors. In NY state, state exams are taken in a large setting. In order to have access to a computer one would need a test modification - primarily for special education students.
Printing is a much more laborious way to write these exams when compared to cursive.
Heather
I am a French teacher and have a few points to make.
1. In France, even now some employers use handwriting analysis in hiring decisions. What do you make of that?
2. In my French class, I make kids handwrite their papers because they make fewer spelling and accent mistakes (assuming they are not using French spell check) - because they have issues with keyboarding and are distracted and lack focus.
3. My students with dysgraphia have a much harder time mastering spelling, accents and grammatical points.
4. A close friend's daughter -- very high IQ, by the way -- is in second grade and had so much trouble with her cursive handwriting that she was sent to an Occupational Therapist, who actually diagnosed Sensory Processing Disorder. This has been a major discovery for the family and, if left untreated, could have had major consequences on her future academic success.
Thanks!
So I guess we will go back 200 years where people signed with an X on paperwork. To follow this idea, why teach spelling if you have "spell check"? Of course, how will you know if the word is incorrect.
Just as addition, multiplication and division have been replaced with "number sense" handwriting, spelling and grammar have been replaced by "voice" and "audience". These basics have been dropping away in our public schools while homeschoolers, private school and "international" students master them. It is as if our public schools believe that all of these schools are learned intuitively or at home and that basic facts and skills are undeserving of their valuable teaching time. It has left children without a solid base in which to grow. I have to add that the same is true for keyboarding. I have watched as teachers claim that they don't have time for the 30 minutes a day for something that "most" kids learn at home. Like cursive, these aren't antiquated skills, but a foundation for higher-level learning.
I feel retaining the skill to read AND WRITE cursive is very important!
Have you tried to retrieve data stored on a floppy disk lately?
Both the hardware AND software are very hard to find now.
I don't like to be alarmist, but it is all too possible that our complex, digital society will relapse into one where only paper records and stores of information are available. If people can't read cursive [can YOU read germanic script?] then they won't be able to access much of the past's wisdom.
It's called resiliency!!
Very Sincerely,
Wynn Solomon
"Tracey Bailey Director of Education Policy for the Association of American Educators and 1993 National Teacher of the Year"
Am I wrong or does Tracey confuse "less and less" with "fewer and fewer when he refers to students"?
The hand/eye coordination that is enhanced by cursive writing may be gained by playing video games. Of course learning 'twitch' skills is different than thinking. Cheers, Julian
I remember a study on NPR several years ago that tested students on speed and depth of learning using hand formed letters and numbers performed on paper and chalk board compared to key-board written letters and numbers. The study revealed that the physical activity and amount of time used in forming letters and numbers by hand caused the students to retain their lessons more successfully than tying the same information on a keyboard. Can anyone comment.
Having trained as a special education teacher with a background in Montessori, specializing in children with learning disabilities, I believe we should start with cursive right away. It is my experience that cursive is easier for children to learn because they don't have to pick up their pencil between letters only between words. I think it goes back to how the teaching is done. Too many teachers combine writing with spelling before either has been taught individually.
But you have acknowledged that you have a cursive signature. Which signature did you use when you got a Mortgage or when you sign a deed to transfer property? Which signature would you put on your last will and testament?
Sounds like the Nuns didn't like your bad writing in grade school.
My son is entering third grade and has a fine motor / graphomotor delay... Although I emphasize that he learn printing and cursive, it is frustrating to see his test scores fall below average because he cannot write with speed to complete the required testing... If he were able to complete these timed tests in an alternative way his tests scores would be a more accurate reflection of his knowledge base.
After independent testing, we're hoping to seek some alternatives for him as we enter the new school year.
I agree with your panel - focus on the learning and thinking, not just filling in the blanks.
I remember a study on NPR several years ago that tested students on speed and depth of learning using hand formed letters and numbers performed on paper and chalk board compared to key-board written letters and numbers. The study revealed that the physical activity and amount of time used in forming letters and numbers by hand caused the students to retain their lessons more successfully than typing the same information on a keyboard. Can anyone comment.
As a right-brain artsy type I have learned over the years that using your hand (as in writing or doodling) builds the connection between the hand and the brain and allows the artist to let their creativity flow and not be held back by worrying about the function and mechanics of using the pencil.
Rulers smacking knuckles notwithstanding, I like to type when I am 'constructing' something creative. But when I am 'channeling' inspiration get me a pen!
Computers will eliminate cursive in the same manner it did away with paper!
There are so many fine motor skills that are no longer incorporated in the school day. We had sewing cards in Kindergarten. Throughout elementary school there was art class with all manner of projects, from linoleum block prints and papier mache to sculpting in clay and sketching and painting. Of course there was handwriting. Then there was sewing in Home Economics, Shop, etc. I was terrible at penmanship. I did not "master" it until 8th grade. But it did finally become a tool that served me. Also, outside school, we played jacks. Kids just don't have multiple opportunities to develop those fine motor skills.
Just as addition, multiplication and division have been replaced with "number sense" handwriting, spelling and grammar have been replaced by "voice" and "audience". These basics have been dropping away in our public schools while homeschoolers, private school and "international" students master them. It is as if our public schools believe that all of these basic skills are learned intuitively or at home and that basic facts and skills are undeserving of their valuable teaching time. It has left children without a solid base in which to grow. I have to add that the same is true for keyboarding. I have watched as teachers claim that they don't have time for the 30 minutes a day for something that "most" kids learn at home. Like cursive, these aren't antiquated skills, but a foundation for higher-level learning.
I have to say that the few like-minded fellow educators believe that this is the origin of what our adminstrators and city leaders call out "achievement gap". We keep blaming children for not learning when it is the schools that are not teaching.
Your guest says that kids are writing more via emails, facebook, etc. Has she read this "writing"? It is shallow and banal for the most part. It's an indulgence in mediocrity. Cursive slows things down - you actually have to think clearly and carefully.
Final optimization of ROI from citizens of Terror, Terra, requires completion of the three step plan.
One, eliminate world delivery of mail, proceeding IAW plan.
B, prohibit/ eliminate public broadcasts freely available, completed.
C, substitute fact-biased plurality of newspapers with easily controlled(on/off and intent- er content), completed.
And four, lax rules of granma mathe, as latin, cursive, and education are no longer luxuries we can afford.
Plus computers can spell check
and help weed out the last true red thoughts.
Oh and defunding health, food, and libraries helps move ROI along nicely.
Long live the iANSII !
And understanding the cyclical nature of history complete.
What is this crumbling around US and ware(;-p) are we going in this handbasket?
Righting and mathematics made us what we are-
The true reason we have thumbs- texting while steering with knees(reason we have knees) while listening to radio and watching viral clips.
Unfortunately we only do one thing at once, sometimes well, while(sound of crashing metal and tumbling fundamental blocks of civilization interrupt the end ).
Last, the "shorthand" vs common cursive debate.
It is very useful and faster than printing to use cursive when doing things like taking quick notes at the grocery store or sorting collections or in a variety of personal situations where your iPad is not handy and your iPhone is too slow and neither will print a quick postIt note.
Those who suggest we just move to an abbreviated form of cursive have forgotten that we already went through that phase in Pitman then Gregg then speedwriting, and so why not just go back to one of those ... ? The problem is chosing a symbol system that will endure. Who reads Pitman any more!
It may not change anything, but I am profoundly disappointed in public school systems deciding to abandon cursive as an education requirement.
How does learning handwriting affect how one learns math and science versus english and other creative subjects?
As a college writing teacher, I think it's essential that students can type AND write by hand (cursive and/or handwriting) as I know that those different activities activate different ways of thinking, different parts of the brain. If students can't handwrite, they can't comment on peer drafts on top of type, write across the type. It would remove a visual skill that accesses writing from a different learning style.
I like the idea of script/scribble, as that is basically what I do now. I use script when I want to write a thank you note or something similar. As an illustrator/architect I learded to replace much of my script with printing in much of my notes, but I still like and use script when appropriate. In any case, it is important to be able to communicate and the digital tools are wonderful for much of what we do on a day to day basis. As a older generation I never learned QWERTY so I have a handicap with the keyboard, but younger generations are so at home on the keyboard.
It is much like architecture students that I met in the Middle East who never learn to sketch - all they learn is CAD. When on site with a client I always have a sketchbook to make quick sketches to communicate my ideas.
Consider how you communicate when there is no power to run your electronic tools (ie, Third World, in the outback, etc.). Also, consider the long term archival issues of digital data. When I do my research in the National Archives I am handling written documents and drawings, but trying to access deteriorated 2" tape data from the Vietnam War is near impossible.
I am Xavier Retnam. I am a professor of mathematics. Writing is important in learning mathematics. I find that the some newer students coming to the Universities and colleges having trouble with the penmanship. Software programs are not very convenient to write math and are not popular. I think that in the future we may be dealing with computerized note taking, but in the mean time we need to have students trained to write quickly to take down notes. Thanks.
Xavier
Yes SIMPLY mental mastication. I used to think and then right BUT now just come out and move on.
I was a good student, but I got a D in second grade for handwriting. As a student in the 60s and 70s, before the age of computers, I struggled with handwriting throughout my education. Taking essay tests within a time limit was especially challenging -- my thoughts always outpaced my ability to write legibly. I failed a history exam in 9th grade simply because I could not write fast enough to complete the exam -- the ideas were there, but I could not get them on paper within the time limit. I am one who would have benefitted greatly from the opportunity to use a computer (I type 80-90 wpm).
I think it is useful for students to learn to read cursive, and possibly to write it, at least the basics. But maybe it should be taught in art class, as calligraphy. Students' academic ability should not be held hostage by their handwriting.
I was a good student, but I got a D in second grade for handwriting. As a student in the 60s and 70s, before the age of computers, I struggled with handwriting throughout my education. Taking essay tests within a time limit was especially challenging -- my thoughts always outpaced my ability to write legibly. I failed a history exam in 9th grade simply because I could not write fast enough to complete the exam -- the ideas were there, but I could not get them on paper within the time limit. I am one who would have benefitted greatly from the opportunity to use a computer (I type 80-90 wpm).
I think it is useful for students to learn to read cursive, and possibly to write it, at least the basics. But maybe it should be taught in art class, as calligraphy. Students' academic ability should not be held hostage by their handwriting.
As a high school English teacher, I am not surprised that only 20% of students wrote the SAT essay in cursive; very few of my students know how to write in cursive. Whether students learn to write neatly in block letters or cursive, more attention needs to be given to writing legibly. Until all students are writing in class on laptops (we are a long away from that in my urban school district), students with illegible handwriting are at a great disadvantage. I tell students that I cannot access their good ideas if they do not write neatly. The ditigal divide does exist among students both in school and at home.
For a signature my Husband does his name in Italics and not cursive.
I personally enjoy cursive because it's easier on my hand and wrist.
Us homeschoolers teach cursive first. I personally didn't because everything is in print. I do teach cursive as an extra curriculum than the main curriculum because our important documents ie emacipation etc are written in cursive. I put the print next to the cursive and let my children see how it can be written in both ways. We practice cursive for fun.
to the question of private schools and the teaching of cursive, my rising first grader attends a Montessori school and the teaching of cursive is part of the pedagogy and she learned this skill in a systematic way focused on the development of fine motor skills which lead to the ability to write (beautifully) in cursive. This is a central component of the Montessori educational philosophy.