A Brief Note On The Causes And Solutions

Not So Fast,” Andrea Lunsford argues that rather than leading to a new illiteracy, the digital technologies in the modern world help students to develop their ability of writing. Not only that students are daferrors than 25 years ago, actually with less spelling errors. In order to help students with the challenges, the teacher should offer solid instructions and encouragement rather than derision.

These people would say that handwriting is passe’, or outdated, and that in the future, everyone will be using word processors to do their writing. Education is important, but schools already have ways to get students to write, that doesn’t involve the repetitive time to practice your writing to make it better. They can enforce these rules of writing without having to practice everyday. For instance, homeschooling parents can be quite confused by the subject of handwriting, so whenever Sam Blumenfeld lectures at a homeschool convention, he always asks if parents think that handwriting should be formally taught. Usually the response is unanimously positive. Mr. Blumenfield, raised this statement for parents to think about,“So you agree that teaching your child to write is an important part of you homeschooling curriculum.”, the next question he raises is if you believe that handwriting should be formally taught, he asks “do you believe that your child should be taught manuscript, also known as “ball and stick” first or cursive first?” Most parents assume that “ball and stick should precede cursive, because that’s the way they were taught in school. ( Sam Blumenfeld, The Benefits of Cursive Writing)

Although technology is denying us the privilege of upper cognitive analysis, our minds still know the acceptable times to use and not use formal writing. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Nicholas Carr examines the human dependency to the Internet while in “Does Texting Affect Writing,” Michaela Cullington studies the possible effects of “textspeak” and its connection to current writing skills. “Textspeak” is the language of texting that has considerable amounts of grammatical error. The individual organic computer in the human skull known as a brain has been slowly changing its organic makeup. The brain has begun to change its primal neural pathways (thoughts), which has had a negative impact on memorization, concentration, and addiction; the only scientific correlation between this alteration and time is the human population and its advancements in technology.

Consider how long people have been writing, several thousand years. During this time human civilizations were able to authentically appropriate the act of writing, which still approaches every child learning to write as something inauthentic. There is a place and a meaning and a culture of writing within most cultures today, as we learn to type, and depend on typing more and more, the traditions of writing are becoming displaced. When was the last time you hand wrote a letter? Why bother when we can just e-mail someone immediately? Does not the mediacy of such communication lessen its importance? When you write a letter, you think about what you should say, what you want to say, and what you want to leave unsaid, the timeliness of its delivery

Having to put pen to paper encourages the brain like nothing else, even in this age of e-mails, texts, and tweets. In fact, wisdom to compose in cursive is shown to advance brain development in the range of thinking, language and working memory. Cursive script triggers brain synapses and synchronicity among the left and right hemispheres, something vanished from printing and typing. The College Board found that students who compose in cursive for the manuscript portion of the SAT scored slightly higher than those who engraved.

Baron states “The computer, the latest development in writing technology, promises, or threatens, to change literacy practices for better or worse, depending on your point of view.” (Baron, 691) Baron believes that the computer is the biggest technological advancement, and that it has changed writing more than any other technological advancement has previously. Grabill et. Al agrees that the computer has had a huge affect on writing stating “Writing practices and

Writing and reading has always held importance to us as a culture. We use writing and reading every single day. In recent news the topic of teaching handwriting has been debated. Many people are strongly for it, with the usual argument that all of our constitutional papers are written using cursive. It also has been proven that writing longhand makes us exercise different parts of the brain. (Dubner) On the other side of that argument people say that in the real world we don’t use writing as much as we used to. Using a podcast about this topic I created a survey to gain information on how students writing styles compare to their GPA. The survey results, although small, give some great information to how writing affects us. Students who write

Putting your pen to paper stimulates the brain like nothing else, even in this age of texts and tweets. In fact, learning to write in cursive is shown to improve your brain development in the areas of thinking, language and working memory. As a result, of writing in cursive leads to increased comprehension and participation. Interestingly, a few years ago, the College Board found out that students who wrote in cursive on plain paper for the essay portion of the SAT scored a little bit higher than those who printed there essay, which experts believe is because the speed and efficiency of writing in cursive allowed the students to stay on task and on the content of their

I write now in the time between breakfast and the exposition of the day’s lessons. The screen that preaches knowledge to me is likely to awaken within the next few minutes, to warble its electronic voice soon animatedly to me. It shall then introduce me to new words by projecting a dancing display of letters and reciting the syllables aloud. I am then to repeat with my voice, and then to write, to scribble the letters on the screen with my fingers to the best of my ability. The weight of my own digits is somewhat cumbersome, and I cannot help but marvel at the fine print that the screen produces, seemingly without any effort at all.

The writing process, from the planning process to the production of the final draft, is essential in producing an excellent document. The production variables in writing such as spelling difficulties and poor handwriting can present serious challenges to many students. For this reason, I prefer using a word processor, which assists with spelling and grammar checks. I do not have any particular preference regarding where I do my writing. I consider writing as a continuing tension between the two roles of a writer: the secretary and the author. While the author thinks of the message, organizes ideas, and uses language to communicate those ideas, the secretary is concerned with the mechanical aspects such as punctuations, spelling, and margins.

One of the most common literacies in today’s society is typing. Typing has become such a common task that it’s involved in almost everything that we do on a daily basis. This ranges from playing computer games, to schoolwork, or posting on social media. Typing is such a necessary skill that one needs to learn in order to succeed in their fields. It enables us take notes, create programs, lists, etc. It is a very common task when it comes to academics. We use it to write papers, turn in assignments, and to ask questions. This common task is one the fundamental skills that everyone needs to learn in order to succeed in life, after all this is the digital age.

Is cursive handwriting a thing of the past? For hundreds of years, this style of penmanship has been the main form of written communication, but for a large number of people today, it is a riddle that can not be solved. “The sinuous letters of the cursive alphabet, swirled on countless love letters, credit card slips and banners above elementary chalk boards are going the way of the quill and inkwell. With computer keyboards and smartphones increasingly occupying young fingers, the gradual death of the fancier ABC’s is revealing some unforeseen challenges” (Zezima). In today’s digital world, some people argue that cursive handwriting is no longer necessary for academic success and has become irrelevant in the classroom. When Common Core was introduced in 2010, many school districts decreased the time spent on cursive while others removed it from the curriculum all together. Neuroscientist and psychologist are beginning to show we may be dismissing cursive handwriting too quickly as numerous studies that show the benefit of cursive writing should not be overlooked, in fact, “learning cursive is an important tool for cognitive development” (Klemm).

In the early 1940's, the decrease of the writing skill was beginning to make an appearance along with some of the first models of computers. Technology rapidly advanced and computers became a necessity in everyday life. In today's society living without a computer would be difficult; most employers will give a web address instead of a paper application, any information one could possibly need is available with a few clicks of the mouse, and many teachers create their lesson plans with educational videos and interactive programs inbetween the book work. However, writing is still important; without writing employers would have poor applications, historians would lack written documentation of history, and teachers would not be able to use a white board to teach a lesson.

Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary and former President of South Africa says, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” (Mandela Web). Since the dawn of man, weapons have been used to correct unwanted circumstances. Education and intellect are radical weapons of advancement that use peaceful means to usher in a change in circumstances. Being the basis of intellect and the most powerful tool of change humans hold, education must continually adapt to meet the needs of those who utilize it. Due to this constant growth, many intellectual battles occur within the realm of education itself. These battles are fought in our local, state, and national governments, being won through vigorous debate. Over the last several years, a major battle regarding cursive handwriting instruction’s place in public elementary schools arose. While this debate may seem rudimentary at first glance, it is in fact a crucial part of education. Even though some applaud the writing technique for its boost in efficient brain development, cursive handwriting should not be taught in elementary schools, because cursive is no longer imperative for most careers, print handwriting develops the brain with similar efficiency while being just as useful to students as cursive, and teaching cursive harms some students while wasting treasured time which could be used teaching more desirable skills such as computer keyboarding.

"When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated," said Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris. "There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental stimulation in your brain. With the use of technology, more students are typing rather than writing. However with the use of writing students are able to retain information longer and are able to learn quicker thru writing. In the source, “ Comic Cursive”, it shows a drawing of Santa Claus holding a letter written in cursive and a text message with several grammatical errors. This pictures not just shows how technology is affecting the use of writing, but how children now in days are lacking writing skills.