Why Handwriting Is More Important Than Keyboarding

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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 However, handwriting is also outdated and lacks the agility of the keyboard (Korper).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).
Throughout the history of handwriting, Platt Roger Spencer was the first American penman to create a national handwriting model; however, it was a sluggish design due to the fussiness of the fancy writing. In the late nineteenth century, the typewriter had created enormous …show more content…

One study by Virginia Berninger, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, compared students who took notes by hand versus classmates who took notes by computer. His findings stated that the “handwriters exhibited better comprehension of the content and were more attentive and involved during the class discussions.” This is because “handwriting involves more complex motor functions and takes a bit longer than keyboarding.” Still, handwriting is not necessary and is time-consuming. “With today’s already overcrowded elementary school curriculum and the importance being placed on reading and math instruction, there are simply more important subjects that need to be taught - keyboarding included” (Kysilko). Moreover, handwriting does not prepare students when it comes to being college and career ready unlike the

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