Bringing Back Letter Writing or The Dangers of Technology

[Ex Nihilo]

I was just reading Orwell on penmanship today. He thought that learning cursive was essential. According to him, learning to write well involves learning how to draw (a thing I never did, and so my handwriting is illegible to most), and he calls as evidence that all the Chinese and Japanese who could write (this was 1949) wrote more or less gracefully.

A Beka teaches kids cursive before printing, on the theory that it is faster and more natural.

It's certainly easier on the hand, especially if the script is properly slanted. I'm not sure why, but when I was learning to write cursive in school, all the girls thought it was cute to write with a round, upright script. Several hours of writing this way kills the hand!

 

[Pergamum]

Writing in hieroglyphics I guess would then make a person the most graceful writers. Or, maybe Arabic IS the most beautiful language (so I've been told)....

Pity the poor Roman script...

 

[py3ak]

I think several minutes of handwriting kills the hand, whether you are doing a nice copperplate or a sloppy scribble!

 

[Ex Nihilo]

I think several minutes of handwriting kills the hand, whether you are doing a nice copperplate or a sloppy scribble!

Fair enough, but some are worse than others!

 

[panta dokimazete]

All I will say is - thank the Lord for word processors!

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

This thread has made me want to practice my cursive.

Also anyone interested in starting a PB thread by chain letter?

 

[bookslover]

I usually find myself putting more thought and care into hand written letters.

Yeah, but the way most peoples' handwriting is (including mine!) a typed letter is a letter the recipient could at least read!