He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her g's the same way he did : he searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In this scene, Rowling captures the way many of us feel whenever we come across the handwritten words of a loved one. Sorry, typed messages, texts and tweets do not offer the same sensory experience as running one’s finger over the words atop paper on which a parent, spouse, child or friend, now deceased, has written in longhand.
I feel that emotion whenever I come across any letter that my parents wrote. Both learned the Palmer Method of handwriting; both wrote beautifully. But, my dad’s script almost looked as if he had studied calligraphy. Friends often asked him to complete certificates to be framed and displayed.
One of my friends writes all of her correspondence in longhand. Like most people, I’m delighted whenever I receive a handwritten letter, and my friend’s familiar handwriting on the envelope prompts fond memories. Always, I’m glad to hear from her.
At the first open house I attended upon returning to the classroom, I announced to all of the parents coming to my room that my classes would focus on writing. I explained that I thought learning to write well, to think and organize those thoughts in a cohesive manner was an important skill to learn in high school. After one session, a parent lingered to tell me how glad she was to hear that I would teach writing. “You can’t read anything my daughter writes,” she said.
I didn’t contradict her. I doubt at the end of the year she could read her daughter’s handwriting any better, but I knew the content of this teen’s writing had improved dramatically.
Another student, as a freshman, had shown remarkable command not only of the English language, but also in her development of very mature thoughts. As a yearbook staffer, she was a dream. Not only could she write excellent copy, she was a whiz at editing the copy of her classmates. Her senior year, she, with tears in her eyes, came to me before school one morning with her term paper for another teacher.
“Something’s wrong. I can’t turn it in this way and I don’t know to fix it,” she said.
When I read her paper, her first effort to compose on a computer, I immediately recognized the problem. She had a great outline, but it was underdeveloped. When she returned after school for my critique, I led her to a desk with her essay, several sheets of blank paper and pen. I told her to flesh out each paragraph. As she worked, she quickly realized what she had done. It’s such a common mistake many make when they begin to compose on a computer.
Historian Shelby Foote, who always wrote with a dip pen and ink, called this simple technique his “thinking time.” Sometimes, a keyboard can interfere with “thinking time.”
Today, I compose my columns and features on the computer. It’s certainly an easier way for editing any selection. Although I can type faster than I can write, it took years before I was comfortable with a computer. In the beginning of my career, I wrote my stories in longhand, then typed them. Today when we travel, I write daily with a ballpoint pen in a journal; and if inspired to compose, I pick up that pen and a notebook.
Therefore, I appreciate both sides in the argument about teaching cursive writing or not. But my take is that both skills, writing and keyboarding, are important for functioning in today’s society. Of course, handwriting all documents in a fast paced world is not the way to run a business nor even exist in a technological culture, but the ability to put pen to paper serves a multitude of purposes.
According to a 2017 report in the Huffington Post, Dr. Claudia Aguirre, a neuroscientist, states that recent studies show how critical handwriting can be to the general learning process. She cites one study which discovered that when young students practiced handwriting letters freeform, rather than tracing or typing them out, the brain’s reading circuit was activated. “The better we write, the better we read,” Aguirre says. She also adds, “Handwriting (not typing) your notes for class can enhance your memory of the lecture and may give you that edge when needed.”
In teaching, I found both premises true. The better the students wrote, the better they read. We all remember information we’ve written by hand better.
The Christian Science Monitor also reports that students who write their SAT essays in cursive usually score better than those who used other methods of writing.
The question about whether elementary schools should teach cursive writing in a technological world arose when the Common Core Standards, a national curriculum sponsored by the members of the National Governors Association in 2009, did not require the skill. However, it did not demand that cursive lessons be eliminated from curriculums either. To date, at least 14 states have now passed legislation requiring that cursive writing once again be taught elementary schools. At least that many more states are considering similar legislation.
Wayne County offers instruction in cursive writing, grades two through five. Kindergarten and first grade focus on learning to print, the first step toward learning cursive writing techniques. Georgia’s third grade standard states, “Writes legibly in cursive.”
On January 23, the birthdate of John Hancock, noted for his large signature on The Declaration of Independence, the Campaign for Cursive, a nonprofit group, announced its annual Cursive is Cool Competition. Opened to first through sixth graders, the competition offers three prompts from which to choose. Requiring a minimum of five sentences, the prompts are “Why is cursive cool?”, “Why do you like signing your name?” What do you think is fun about writing in cursive?”
I don’t know when we, as a nation, became so dogmatic about so many topics. Who decreed that life must be narrowed between to two competing components - either/or, yes or no, my side or the wrong side? In many instances, as with handwriting vs. keyboarding, mastering both skills can benefit each of us.
2018
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