The Pen is Dead, Long Live the Pen
My wife and I used to argue about the amount of time our son was spending on penmanship. He hated it, I didn't see the point of the repetive assignments, but Heather insisted it was important. Turns out we were both right. Researchers are making the case that writings lead to better thinking.
But,
Thank goodness for that!
All this matters, educators say, because evidence is growing that
handwriting fluency is a fundamental building block of learning. Emily
Knapton, director of program development at Handwriting Without Tears,
believes that "when kids struggle with handwriting, it filters into all
their academics. Spelling becomes a problem; math becomes a problem
because they reverse their numbers. All of these subjects would be much
easier for these kids to learn if handwriting was an automatic
process." That concern, in part, prompted the addition of a written
essay to the SAT, which is graded for content, though not legibility.
But,
Beauty seems to be less important than fluidity and speed.
Thank goodness for that!
Comments