Loved this article by Catherine Field in the New York Times. I share the author’s fears of what this generation’s legacy will be. Handwriting is no longer taught in schools. Young people claim they cannot read cursive. So I share the fears but I’m also optimistic. With websites such as Letter Writing Alliance, InCoWriMo and PostCrossing more and more people are turning to “old-fashioned” methods of communicating. I searched for “penpals” on Google and over 1.5 million results were returned.
A good handwritten letter is a creative act, and not just because it is a visual and tactile pleasure. It is a deliberate act of exposure, a form of vulnerability, because handwriting opens a window on the soul in a way that cyber communication can never do. You savor their arrival and later take care to place them in a box for safe keeping.
Our souls crave human connections, not wifi connections. I have faith in humans so handwriting will be around long after I’m gone. At least I hope so.
inlovewithjournals 
Reblogged this on Mackneen_The Algerian Goldfinch.
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I remember my third grade teacher telling our class how important it was to learn cursive, because all the teachers in the higher grades would only accept cursive written assignments.
Fast forward to high school a few years later. All the teachers insist on printing for rough drafts, and typed copies for final drafts. Handwritten papers, no matter how pretty the writing, actually gets points taken off for not following the directions!
Sigh.
But I have faith that handwriting will come back in vogue. These things work in a cycle! As evidence, I direct you to the likes of this cartoon: https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z12vjhkzvrfztjwyo04cgbja4tmmvl2posw0k
I do believe the Pen shall PWN the PC. 😉
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That’s true, that happened to me in high school as well. Also in university. My question is: how will people form unique signatures if they don’t know cursive?
Love the cartoon – there’s a variation of it in my Friday post from last week. Thanks!
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I’m a primary school teacher and I teach cursive handwriting. I also model it in all writing that I do all the time in lessons. I think it’s important.
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That’s wonderful petite28! I think it’s important too. Folks like you are the reason I have faith in the human race. Thank you for posting. 🙂
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Lately, I’m trying to take more care of my handwriting, sadly squeezed by pc keyboard addiction… drawing with a personal touch, too, is something really worth working on…
[anyway… I’ve just started practicing… if you can read this comment, it’s thanks to digital letters! ;-)]
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Well that’s true, isn’t it? We wouldn’t be able to have this conversation through a handwritten letter, and even if we did no one else could see it. Good for you for practising your handwriting, I’m sure your efforts will pay off!
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