Dec 11 2006
Forget the Computer, Give Kids a Pen
You have to figure it is only a matter of time in front of the computer before we all forget how to write. I’m guilty. I needed to write a paper check the other day and had to read the instructions. I type much faster (and more legibly) then I write, plus the spell-checker is my best friend.
Most adults have had some experience with a pen and pencil, but schools today are pushing more and more technology. One would think all the time in front of the computer must have a cost. What are we taking out of the day to make room for keyboarding instruction?
One school in Scotland is bucking the trend and teaching their kids the lost art of writing with a fountain pen:
There is no clacking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart’s Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities for computer lessons and technology isn’t being ignored.
But the private school’s principal believes the old-fashioned pens have helped boost the academic performance and self-esteem of his 1,200 pupils.
“The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem,” principal Bryan Lewis said. “Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been.”
Interesting. Because they cannot easily correct their mistakes, the kids are required to focus and exert more care in their work. But, writing with a fountain pen? Do they still make those? Is that legal? I thought they made the ink out of endangered animals or something like that. Will PETA be raining red on schools?
Maybe there is a middle ground; a way to get keyboarding/technology skill into the classroom and still maintain that feeling of care in your work. Bring back the typewriter! Not those fancy ones with the ball, give me the good old-fashion typewriter with little golf clubs and hit your paper. You know, the ones that build finger strength while making that cool swatting sound. That would be great!
I love the sound of typewriters in the morning…
