Word processing kills the art of cursive

We all are now so used to our word processors that typing has become one of the most important skills of modern times. With the stroke of a key, we can now instantly communicate messages across the world. But as with many things, the birth of the new begins to lead to the death of the old, and this is becoming even more evident with the hand-written word.

I ran across an article the other day by Tom Breen of the Associated Press that really got me thinking about this.

According to the article, teaching the skills of handwriting in grade school is giving way more and more each year to computer and typing skills, leading to a decline in the "lost art" of students learning the smooth loops and flowing letters of cursive writing.

I am an older graduate student at almost 30 years old, so I can remember back when all schoolwork and papers I handed in were still done by hand.

I remember spending hours in elementary school practicing penmanship on wide ruled paper with the dotted line halfway between the lines.

Even when things were typed, I remember having to scrap a whole page because I messed something up at the end, or using globs of Wite-Out and typing over the discolored stain.

The ironic thing about this however, for some reason I can't explain, is that I went back to printing when I started getting used to computers.

Even when I consciously try to write things out in cursive, it eventually ends up being a mixture of cursive and print.

Could this be related to the decline in the need for penmanship in the modern day?

Now don't get me wrong, there will always be a need for knowing how to write out words by hand, but it is becoming less and less important.

Writing down notes to oneself, filling out paperwork or filling out greeting cards by hand come to mind as prime examples. But even with those examples people can type notes to themselves on their cell phones or laptops, and fill out paperwork or send e-cards over the Internet.

Even though I have a laptop, I still prefer to take notes by hand, though I have noticed people using laptops to take notes in class more and more each year.

I think the invention of movable type was the first strike against the art of handwriting. All those old books with their beautiful hand-drawn calligraphy were artwork in themselves.

As the years progressed and typefaces became more and more practical, especially after the printing press, the need for handwriting declined further.

After the invention of the typewriter, then even more so the computer and word processors, there are less and less needs for writing out words by hand, and thus less emphasis on penmanship.

Nowadays, one could literally get away with not writing anything by hand at all for long periods of time. I think the biggest use would be writing out a signature, but there are even e-signatures now for online forms.

One day try to consciously see how difficult it is to get through the day not writing down anything by hand at all, which would be unheard of not so long ago.

Whether the future holds almost no need for handwriting we shall see, but it is a skill that certainly should not be forgotten.