According to research published by the Washington Post, “In 2011… only 24 percent of students in eighth and 12th grades were proficient in writing” (Wexler). This is most likely due to the recent advances in modern technology. Because of these advances, many elementary schools have begun to consider putting less emphasis on teaching the basic handwriting fundamentals in order to focus on teaching typing and computer skills. Many educators and analysts agree that there are many beneficial by-products of instructing young students to fully develop their handwriting. However, there are also many who believe that in order for students keep up with the constant changes and growth in technology, they must be taught computer skills from early ages. …show more content…
It is a proven fact that learning handwriting as a young child helps to develop an individual’s fine motor skills. Because students are no longer receiving full instruction, their motor skills are suffering as they mature. Laura Dinehart writes, “Digital keyboards don’t deliver the same fine motor skill benefits as putting pencil to paper” (Dinehart). This is not only detrimental to the development of one’s physical abilities but also to one’s mental capacities. Because each different letter represents a different symbol and sound, those who do not learn to form them by hand cannot fully grasp the significance of each letter. It has also been proven that those who do well in higher levels of schooling often achieved high marks in motor skill testing in primary education (Dinehart). Because it has been proven that learning to write by hand helps a person as they mature, elementary schools should not choose to skip this valuable lesson. When I was in elementary school, it seemed as if we would spend the whole year focusing on how to write each letter in print and in cursive. These are skills that I use in my everyday life, and I could not function normally without being able to write manually. If students are only taught how to type letters on a computer, they will not be able to function normally. All in all, developing handwriting in young …show more content…
One problem with their argument is that schools do not have to completely forgo handwriting classes in order to teach keyboarding. There are many different ways to balance the importance of teaching handwriting with the necessity of learning typing skills. Handwriting is a skill that is often learned during Kindergarten and first grade, while keyboarding classes are often better suited to older children. One of the first steps students take when it comes to learning to read is learning to say and write the letters of the alphabet. Learning to write on a keyboard does not enable children to understand what each letter represents as easily as learning to write them does. Thus making handwriting a vital step in the process of learning to read (Stokes). Learning to write and form letters by hand is also an important factor in developing the fine motor skills. These fine motor skills are also necessary when learning to type on a computer. Therefore, if schools would simply learn to balance the teaching of these two necessary skills, more students would be well-rounded when they graduate from high
Cursive should not be taught in schools! Schools don’t need cursive. There are other things that kids could be doing in class. Read my next paragraph to find out what and why.
Technology is not killing our ability to write, but it is reviving it and pushing our literacy to new directions. Andrea Lunsford, from Stanford University, conducted an experiment to scrutinize college students way of writing. Her results were alarming, "I think we are in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven't seen since Greek civilization." Lunsford discovered that only 38% of students writing occurred within the classroom, the rest was written in their own free time. Most of our socializing now takes place online and always involves text or writing. Before the Internet, most of our communication was verbal. The only time Americans wrote was for a school assignment and if their job required writing. Otherwise most people didn't write another paragraph once they left
Fortunately, wasting time on technology is not wasting time. Using technology is vital to our everyday lives and even enhances the life we are living. Thompson refutes the report that technology is to blame for the inability of children to write by composing a story for a magazine. This story shows how children today write more often than ever because of technology. Before technology, children would only write for school, but now they write all the time.
...rner. Teachers simply don’t have enough time to teach handwriting. We want students to be able to express themselves, and be assessed on this skill, yet these same students have to rely on electronic devices not only for writing, but for grammar and vocabulary. Most schools don’t have funding to place a computer in every student’s hands, so they should not be asked to replace writing with typing. Learning to write by hand should be taught in elementary school because of its impact on learning to read, self-expression and higher education.
What benefits does cursive writing hold, if students were to learn? Phsycologists found that if students hand write vs. type they remember better what was wriiten down. Well who said you need to know cursive to hand write? There is something called fine print, and we use that everyday of our lives. You just don't need cursive anymore. That is why it should never be required.
With the swarm of technology, handwriting, a vital skill, may be on the brink of extinction, despite that it is able to create a “model citizen, assimilate immigrants, and even reform juvenile delinquents” (Korper). Believe it or not: handwriting is important. However, the debate about handwriting is still questionable. Handwriting allows for effective memory retention and is an significant and unique action to develop certain regions of your brain (Grossberg). However, handwriting is also outdated and lacks the agility of the keyboard (Korper). Nonetheless, some of these positive aspects of handwriting are largely due to the ‘drill’ factor emphasized in the Palmer Method of handwriting used present day (Korper).
Smyth, Julie Carr. "Cursive Handwriting in Schools: Should it be Taught?" 15 November 2013. 7ONLINE. 21 March 2014.
Cursive writing is nice and beautiful. At Blackshear Elementary School, a Texas school is failing academic condition by focusing on handwriting, the teachers noted that excellent handwriting was a goal
First, cursive writing should still be taught in schools today because, students will be able to use cursive throughout their life. According to the article " The handwriting was on the wall for cursive, but it's making a comeback" the article says," I think it's really discouraging to get a not from a college graduate printed like a second grader." Beth Mizell. However, the article also says studies have shown cursive writing help students get better at spelling and comprehension. According to the article " Ten Reasons People Still Need Cursive" it says " if kids don’t learn cursive they won't be able to read it."
Handwriting Matters Have you ever wondered why your kids never bring home a notebook, but instead it's a computer or tablet? Well if you have it's because it's true, technology is taking over our world, classrooms have resorted to using computers and tablets to do most of their teaching and grading on. Yes it is more efficient and probably faster, but handwriting skills are a great thing to have. I agree that you also need strong computer and keyboard skills because, like I said technology is taking over the world.
In spite of the many benefits of computers, there are also quite a few arguments about them, one of which is the bad effect some believe they are having on children's education and learning. Before computers became really popular where almost every household had one students did research papers manually and used a type writer to type papers or hand write their papers, illiteracy is a big issue, and many people say that computers are the reason for that. Younger students these days are asked to type papers which may not be a problem for older students but for younger students they need to do assignments that are hand written to develop their writing skills. If a younger student is typing all their assignments it can have a great affect on their grammar because they are using the comp...
In todays world computers are very useful because there is weather forcasting and many other things. People can forcast weather by this process by computers . Advertising is one of the most progressive field these days . Computer animation is the art of creating moving images by this use of computers . We can use use internation network (internet) to check mail, play games, find other's addresses , etc. Scientists also use computers for their experiments . There are some documents to type. For example MS Word , MS Exel , etc . We can do our school project also by using computers. There is one thing which is very conveinient for us it is that we can talk or chat with people who are in another country by using google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . It is not at all expensive . It is better than using a telephone or a mobile . We can also send voicemails through google talk , yahoo messenger , etc . We can play many games using a computer . For example pinball , soltaire , spider soltaire , etc . Believe it or not, but the age of computers is upon us. I believe Computers are not only here to stay, but in my opinion computers are the wave of the future. Only a device like the computer can change the way we work, live, and think. I see computers taking us places where no man has gone before. students can receive an education from their own home Taking classes online is an option that a growing number of students are taking advantage of. These classes are making a college education available for students who are not able to attend a traditional university or college. Computers are taking us places where a lot of us thought was not possible. Truly it is my belief and opinion, the computer is one of the most incredible inventions of this time period or any other.
There is a need for more computers in everyday life, in homes, schools and on the job. The advancement of computer technology today in all facets of the world, and life are growing to the point that everyone will need a computer to carry out their everyday life. Computer technology today is at the threshold of making life easier for everyone in the world.
The late 20th century has successfully witnessed the boom of sophisticated technology, which gave birth to a wide range of technological outcomes, including computer technology. Computer technology, that is a skill to manage information, communicate and a kind of entertainment media, has become an important part in modern life at work, in recreation and social networking. Whether computer technology is better or not is a complicated issue. There are different arguments that need to be examined. Most people support that computer technology is better for individual lifestyles. It improves quality of working and study, provides a wide range of entertainment and is a wonderful tool of communication. On the other hand, others believe that computer
These days being computer literate is more important than it ever has been in the last few years that computers have been around. Almost everything is becoming computer reliant and there are several businesses that have embraced technology. Computer literacy isn’t something that you can easily escape, and honestly you shouldn’t try to. Humans are all about adapting and computers are just one more thing we all have to learn to adapt to. Unfortunately, everyone doesn’t understand that so it’s vital to understand the importance of being computer literate.