Computers Killed My Penmanship
I can’t say that I ever had the finest penmanship. In fact the reality is that unless I really concentrated on making my writing legible it was questionable as to whether anyone else could decipher it.
To be clear I am referring to writing in simple printing. I don’t even want to tell you how bad my cursive was and now it is even worse. But I have an easy excuse for why it has gotten so bad. It is called computers.
Yes, computers are responsible for helping me lose the limited ability that I had to write. Thanks to the wonderful world of word processing I almost never spend any time writing anything of any length with a pen or pencil.
I have noticed that I have virtually no stamina for it anymore. I am afraid to see what would happen If I had to fill out a blue book. I have had this discussion a few times now and am glad to report that I am not the only one that this has happened to.
And I cannot help but wonder if one day we’ll see handwriting disappear. Let me clarify that, I wonder if cursive is going to go the way of the Dodo bird. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen. I must admit that it is kind of a sad prospect.
Does anyone handwrite letters anymore or do we all rely upon email?
What do you think?
Jack's Shack June 15, 2007 at 7:34 am
Babka,
I thought about being doc, but just had no interest in med school. OTOH, this allows me to travel the country in a covered wagon selling my secret sauce which is guaranteed to heal your ills.
Sho,
That is a double whammy.
Judi,
The first thing I am going to do is tell him what you said. Then I’ll explain that he really shouldn’t be concerned that some stranger knows who you are. 😉
judi June 15, 2007 at 12:11 am
Don’t tell him that I told you, but my husband’s handwriting is horrible. I’d previously thought it was a guy thing. After all, nearly every girl (except me, cough…. cough…) goes through a stage where she makes smiley faces instead of dots over her eyes and “e”s look like Pac Mans without chins. So it makes sense that guys would produce manly I-couldn’t-care-less-about-my-handwriting, got-a-problem-with-that? scrawl. Right?
Shoshana June 14, 2007 at 5:57 pm
I have the same problem. And it really is a problem because I don’t take a laptop to my classes, which means I have to handwrite my notes, which means that, often, I can’t read them afterwards. And my hand hurts.
The Babka Nosher June 14, 2007 at 4:53 pm
A few thoughts… My handwriting isn’t as good as it used to be either. It’s definitely from typing all the time. Cursive is going to be the next Dodo… they teach it for part of one school year here (Maryland) and don’t expect the kids to turn in any major work written that way. By 5th grade, all papers are typed. It’s a pity to no longer have that art. On the other hand, my handwriting has never been as nice as my mom’s or aunts’. As for you – maybe you should have been a doctor. Then your handwriting would fit in!