PRI – Adriana Gallina
“Anne Trubek, author of “The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting,” seems to think our culture is heading in that direction. “The digital revolution is both launching us into a no-handwriting future, and also sending us backwards in time to when the spoken word ruled,” she says. But, she adds, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “I don’t think kids should be assessed on their ability to master cursive,” Trubek says. “It’s not something that they are going to use much in their lives as they grow older. It’s not something most of us adults use in [our] lives today.” She suggests that schools offer handwriting or cursive as an elective or art class in the future. Trubek argues that content is more important than the medium of the writing itself. “Focus on how to teach kids to express their ideas, how to organize their thoughts, how to make arguments” she says. “The forming of the letters are less important. And there are certainly many ways to individualize what you write beyond the way you’ve circled the ‘I’ or crossed your ‘T.’” But many studies show students absorb information better when they write their notes than when they type them.”(more)