A number of my younger friends like to point out that I am out of touch with what is happening today and tend to rely on knowledge of the past rather than trying to live in the present. Of course, I rather enjoy their comments and just smile at the thought of their being accused of the same things a few years hence. I surely hope they will be as proud of their heritage as I am of mine.

One of my favorite subjects about the past is the education we received then. I tend to get a bit excited when I hear about some of the changes–many of which I merely put down as omissions. For instance, I become a little tense when I find that grammar is sometimes set aside and students are told to pay more attention to what they want to say than to how they should say it.

At such times, I am very thankful for having had excellent English teachers throughout public school years and outstanding English professors throughout college years. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Cursive resistance shows sign of times | resistance, shows, sign – Quay County Sun

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — While more than 200,000 students are awaiting the results of Zaner-Bloser’s 20th annual National Handwriting Contest, a 5th-grader in Readfield, Maine received a special award for his participation in this year’s competition.  During a school assembly on April 4th, Readfield Elementary School principal, Cheryl Hasenfus, presented a trophy to Nicholas Maxim on behalf of Zaner-Bloser for his excellent penmanship, an even more significant accomplishment because he was born without hands and lower arms.

Zaner-Bloser received an entry from Nicholas Maxim’s principal in January 2011 after the contest began.  His penmanship looked comparable to most students his age.

“We submitted his entry because we felt his penmanship was amazing considering he completes most of his work without using his prostheses,” says Cheryl Hasenfus, Readfield Elementary School Principal. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Maine 5th Grader Inspires Zaner-Bloser to Create a New Special Penmanship Award… — COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

It turns out that my touch-based handwriting with my index finger really sucks. Sure, the notes resemble my handwriting, but the touch field is very sensitive, so if I have a weird jog in a letter because I don’t pick up my finger completely, a line will appear. So writing on Touchwriter HD is not a reckless affair; it does require that you pay attention. That said, it also gets easier as you go along and learn the feel of the app and process. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Mac News: Reviews: Touchwriter Lets You Recapture the Joy of Handwriting

As technology continues to develop at such a fast pace, parents and teachers are skeptical about whether or not cursive writing should remain a part of the public school curriculum.

The debate over cursive in the elementary school curriculum is becoming a more prominent and heated topic throughout the United States. Advocates for both sides of the issue have sparked the interest of national news networks and programs such as “Fox News” and “Sunday Morning” as well as parents and school boards across the nation.

While some think that cursive is an outdated and unnecessary skill in today’s world of technology, others argue that without the knowledge of cursive writing, important historical facts and penmanship skills would be lost on future generations. Though both sides of the conflict present evidence that proves or disproves the validity of teaching cursive in school, the subject remains open for discussion among students and staff. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: The Chronicle @ Kettle Run – Kettle Run High School – Cursive: Should It Stay or Should It Go?

That is a silly question. Of course, writing skills are important. The question should be phrased, “Do you think handwriting skills are important in the corporate world?” It depends on your position. If you are a CEO, handwriting skills are less important, because you can give a typed page to your secretary to handwrite it for you. If you are an employee trying to persuade a committee, or other decision-making group, you need quality handwriting skills if you are going to persuade each individual within that group through a hand-written letter. Handwriting skills are still used for two things, letters of persuasion and thanks. In almost all other cases, technology has taken the place of the pen. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: WSJ: Do you think writing skills are important in the corporate world?

Is it wrong to write? So many of us are dependent on keyboards to express ourselves these days, the question becomes significant. Does using a keyboard instead of a pen or pencil change the way people learn? If it does, the importance of actually using a manual writing implement such as a pen or pencil is being overlooked. It surely makes sense that the oldest known word processor is a brain, muscles, skeleton, joints, touch, sight, coordination, etc. Assume that the muscles are located in your hands, fingers, wrists and eyes.

A Jan. 24 research article summarized on sciencedaily.com begins with two remarkable sentences: “Writing by hand strengthens the learning process. When typing on a keyboard, this process may be impaired.” Each process activates different parts of the brain. Handwriting actually creates a muscle movement memory in the brain that causes us to recognize letters. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: FayObserver.com – Community Advisory Board: Computers not always the write stuff

It’s “totally unacceptable” that Canadian medical professionals’ garbled scribbles on prescriptions and hospital charts continue to put patients at risk, one of the country’s leading doctors said on Thursday.

Dr. Louis Francescutti, the president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, made his comments following the case of a Nova Scotia nurse who was reprimanded for his illegible handwriting. Earlier this month, the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia ordered Wilfred Douglas Gordon to complete a documentation course after finding his writing on nurses’ notes and patients’ charts was unintelligible.

“But in 2011 it’s totally unacceptable that we’re still handwriting — that’s how the monks did it,” Francescutti said. “Everything should be dictated or typed.”

The Nova Scotia nurses’ complaints committee found that Gordon’s penmanship was poor enough to put his patients at risk. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Sloppy medical scribbles may compromise health, say experts

Cursive handwriting instruction is disappearing.

Students and teachers alike have swapped pencils for keyboards, baselines for blinking cursors, and have all but written off the traditional route of writing.

Although standardized tests may not pick up the flourish of a cursive capital “T” or grade against floaters and sinkers, proponents of cursive handwriting maintain that there is value in teaching the craft and hope to save it from being erased from educational relevancy.

ABC News reports that 41 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English, which omits cursive handwriting from required curriculum. Now that it’s not mandatory, schools around the country are debating whether or not to spend valuable teaching resources on penmanship.

In New York, some schools are considering cutting it altogether. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Schools Debate Cursive Handwriting Instruction Nationwide

The Fine Arts Department of Government College of Education, Sector 20 organised a workshop on handwriting analysis in the premises of the college today under the aegis of Department of Higher Education, Chandigarh Administration.

Faculty members and all the BEd and MEd students of the college attended this workshop which was conducted by Mohan Ray, a handwriting analyst and grapho-therapist. Principal Dr Harsh Batra welcomed the resource person present on the occasion.

Ray said that handwriting is as unique as your fingerprint but much more than that. Handwriting of a person reveals his personality, strengths, weaknesses, hidden talents, fears, the way he thinks, the way he acts and reacts almost all the physical, psychological and philosophical aspects of your present life. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Handwriting analysis expert Mohan Ray holds workshop

I am procrastinating like one of my teenagers with a deadline looming.  Then it hit me why I am temporarily paralyzed   — I am not writing.  In a pure organic sense putting the pencil to the paper.  Raiding the fourth graders backpack for the Ticonderoga #2 and a marble composition book I started to write which made me think of the art of writing.

What do we as moms still write? I have a friend who is a tech guru but she still writes in a calendar her to do list with a pencil.  No Google calendar or Blackberry for her.  I have seen a few  shopping lists the last time I was in the grocery store but another friend does her food shopping online and never makes a list. [continued...]

Read the whole article here: Lamenting The Lost Art Of Writing – Wyckoff, NJ Patch