Is handwriting still important?

The digital generation skips penmanship

A video on the BBC link below

As interactive technology becomes ubiquitous around the globe, some experts warn that formal handwriting may soon diminish, rendering the penmanship a relic of the past.

Fears of handwriting’s demise prompted North Carolina Congresswoman Pat Hurley to draft a bill, mandating that script be taught in all elementary schools in the state. It passed unanimously in the state House earlier this month.

But Jeffrey Reaser, associate professor of linguistics at North Carolina State University, says a sense of “nostalgia” is not enough reason to force students to learn something that’s “not crucial to their education”.

Meanwhile, some classrooms in the state have begun teaching students handwriting on iPads and iPods.

Click for video

Opinion:

The demise of the ability to write will reflect on us all.

There are schools of thought that suggest the tech-age will fail, no PCs, no iPads or Smartphones, then what?

Handwriting will always be important

I was amused in the video at the Americans saying “write in cursive” and the reference to ‘script’ above, how bloody daft can you get. Why not simply say ‘write’ as opposed to ‘print’? If you write, then it is automatically cursive or script; totally unnecessary.