For me the topic of handwriting has been coming into view in some strange ways lately. Considering the fact that I use a lot of modern digital appliances to get things done, I admit that I write less than I used to. But the experience of writing is still a different sort of animal from what I get from typing. I find that typing is a great tool to use if you have need to, or want to develop a more linear thinking process. The fact that you are (psychologically) bound to continue along ‘hoeing the same row’ when typing may have some relationship to this feeling I get.
With handwriting you have a lot more freedom. You might even remember back to when you were first learning some of the rigors of writing, it was hard to keep on a straight line, and to evenly space words and letters. Coming back from a typing perspective, I can see that there is a lot of freedom implicit in handwriting, and that there is a lot of room for expression which is difficult (at best) to simulate when typing.
There are some great advantages for students in writing, maybe it is because writing is inherently a bit slower than typing, you need to develop real summarization skills, to learn how to paraphrase, and to try to find the gist of what you need to cover. These skills are much more valuable than merely becoming a stenographer when taking notes.
So, with all of these important related skills directly associated with writing, I often wonder why there is a diminishing focus on teaching students to learn to write cursively. The fact is, cursive writing is on the wane in our society…and this has been going on for decades, it is not a new problem.
Writing, Printing, Typing, Texting…
http://www.riehler.com/writing-printing-typing-texting
Handwriting vs. typing: The Showdown
http://mindhacks.org/handwriting-vs-typing-the-showdown/239
Hand writing vs. typing
http://www.productivitygoal.com/2006/06/hand_writing_vs_typing.html
The Phenomenology of Writing by Hand
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/phenom.html
Is Cursive Writing Cursed with Extinction?
http://www.edutopia.org/penmanship-cursive-writing
