The Keyboard is Mightier Than the Something Else

Jeff Cohen

Here's all I'm saying:

Last week, I ranted on a bit about what's happened to vampires and their lore. I suggested they'd gone from being horrifying beasts to being Fonzie. This week, Entertainment Weekly ran a cover story on... vampires! In which they suggested that at least one was as threatening as... Fonzie.

Coincidence? Well, yeah. Actually, it is a coincidence.

But enough on that subject. As the school year approaches (sorry about that, students!), I'm thinking more about the college students I teach. You start to do that around this time of year--what can you do to improve, how can you get through to them more effectively.

Now, keep in mind that I teach a writing course. For college students. At a reputable university. And there's one thing that is true of ALMOST every student I have seen for the past several years:

They can't write.

Don't get me wrong, now: I'm not saying that these kids use poor grammar, can't spell, don't understand syntax or have no sense of character or dialogue, although that is true in many cases. I'm saying they can't write. The physical act of picking up a pen and setting a sentence down in cursive letters is beyond them. Making something remotely legible on a piece of paper is a talent they've never been taught, let alone cultivated. 

It's a wonder they can sign their names on checks, although with debit cards and Internet shopping, it's quite possible these young people have no need for that skill, either. I don't know how they get around putting the old John Hancock on an apartment lease or a car loan form, but they all seem to have a place to live and a set of wheels. They all go to college, and I assume some have to sign a promissary note of some kind to get financial aid, but maybe that's done digitally, as well.

What's astonishing is the speed with which this skill has evaporated. My mother's generation prided itself on penmanship, and children who couldn't make letters that were an absolute joy to behold were made to practice until they could. My generation was given endless practice drills and forced to write almost immediately after we'd let out our breath from the lessons on printing. You mean there are MORE WAYS to make letters? It's no wonder we're neurotic and fearful. They thought the Cold War made us this way? Hell no--it was the penmanship lessons.

But something happened--some disconnect occurred--between my generation and the one that followed it. Handwriting became... obsolete. Unnecessary. Its value plummeted faster than that of an AMC Pacer, a car known for being ugly AND impractical. Yeah, you could put a really big sub sandwich in the back, but how often was THAT really going to be an asset to most drivers?

My children were taught cursive writing for a couple of weeks in second grade or so, and since then, they have not been called upon to practice it so much as once. I don't blame them or the schools--there's really no use for handwriting anymore. You don't write letters to friends; you email them. You don't have to take notes in class; you have your laptop. Yeah, you occasionally have to sign your name on a credit card receipt. So you learn to write your name. That'll be helpful if you become famous and people ask you to autograph things, like their children.

Other than that, what's handwriting really for? But we're losing something special here. Handwriting analysis will no longer be relevant, so mystery writers working in the present day will have lost a possible story point. The people at the local fair who can tell you about your personality from a signature will be out of business. Maybe they can get portable DNA kits to let you know if you're genetically predisposed toward psoriasis or something.

The beauty, the art, the personal touch of putting pen to paper? That's long gone. People print out grocery lists now. It's a shame, but it's part of the price we pay for living in the present. Is it a big price to pay? I don't know; maybe not. But when my son or daughter finds that one person, the one who makes them forget all others (excepting, of course, their loving father) and they want to express their innermost thoughts? What happens then?

They'll probably text.

Comments

[bookwitch]

I found the other day that I couldn't write. Bit of a surprise.

In the UK we hardly ever use checks any longer, and the card payments use PIN code, not signature.

And for taking notes when listening to authors, I prefer illegible, anyway.

But yes, it's dying skill.

[bookwitch]

Oh, and about young love? I had an email. With photo.

[Lartonmedia]

I hand-write my shopping list and write a cheque once in a blue moon. I don't even need to sign credit or debit card slips now, as we use PIN numbers in the UK.

If I interview someone, I use a tape recorder or take shorthand notes -- and, scarily, my shorthand is easier to read than my now rarely-used handwriting.

[Lynne Patrick]

Don't students have to write exam papers any more? Or is it all multiple-choice, tick-in-a-box now?

[Robin Agnew]

They do gave to write exam papers sometimes and I feel sorry for whoever is reading them. Both of my children have absolutely terrible handwriting.