Should kids go back to pen and paper?

TalkBack 1 of 12:: Next »

Thread View
Flat View

Lost arts or hindrances to learning?: As a student growing up in the Midwest in the 1960's, with pencil and paper, I struggled long and hard to prepare papers -- drafting and redrafting, writing and re-writing because parents and teachers did not accept crossed-out words and misspellings. I learned to memorize things verbatim because it was easier than having to paraphrase and write down whatever I read -- and then organize it into a completed work. Nobody ever taught me how to write an outline no prepare a decent report.

The result was that I was a TERRIBLE writer -- and I HATED doing it! It doesn't matter how well you can spell if you avoid writing as if it were the bubonic plague!

It wasn't until I was an IT professional -- in my 30's -- with access to a word processor, that I truly learned how to write, and that I began to appreciate the art of writing well.

I appreciate the importance of learning to spell and learning grammar, and I recognize the pitfalls of students having the opportunity to plagiarize because they do everything on-line, but the fact of the matter is that having to resort to pen and paper dramatically hindered my learning experience!

This may not be true for all but I am a far more productive and creative individual because I have access to the technology than I would ever have become without it!

I don't doubt for a second that similar sentiments were raised with the invention of the printing press and movable type, and much later the typewriter, but look how much more information is available to how many more people because we no longer have to rely on the hand-written word as our primary method of communication through time and space.; Posted by: mwagner@... Posted on: 06/12/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use