When I was about 32 and teaching a class of very
active 6/7 year olds, one of my pupils shouted out during a writing lesson, "Mrs
Kahn, when you were young, did you write with a feather?" The rest of the class
burst out laughing and so did I. It was funny, although the children could not
have really known that. At that stage of their lives they had no real concept of
educational progress or of the passage of time.
I have always felt that it is vital for children to be
taught to write legibly and neatly and I am most certainly not ready to give up
that idea, not quite yet, anyway.
I do concede, however, that learning to
type quickly and accurately is just as essential these days. So my question
is, why can't children be taught both skills, perhaps in a new and imaginative
way? They serve different purposes after all but I do I believe that
learning to write is a very important skill for the general development of
the child. I do not intend to go into details here, but many studies have
indicated this.
Therefore, I find it immensely dissatisfying and indeed very worrying, that in America, 41 of their States have already declared that it is no longer a requirement to teach children handwriting, although each individual school is at liberty to decide that for themselves! I would like to think that most schools will continue to do so as part of their regular curriculum, slotted in somewhere, perhaps in Arts and Crafts lessons, should those lessons still exist. When the current batch of teachers retire and new younger ones step in, I am sure the age of technology will take over completely. Perhaps then the only writing that will be required of children will be the ability to sign their names, and we all know that most signatures are entirely illegible in any case, so any old squiggle will do! I should imagine that practically anyone can do that, without resorting to the good old "X", which would be a giant step backwards.
What do you think?
Do send your comments!
Rosemary
