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The vanishing art of good handwriting

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By Dr Satish Misra

Sometimes back, there was a news item from Finland which read that Finnish school going children will no longer be taught handwriting at school. Instead, they will be given typing lessons.

From autumn of 2016, students would not be required to learn cursive handwriting or calligraphy but will be imbibed with writing skills that will help them to enter digital age early.

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This news item reminded me of my childhood days when clear, legible and beautiful letters written on a slate or blackboard with white chalk used to be the delight of teachers and parents. They used to exclaim “What a beautiful handwriting she or he has”.

There was an emphasis on cursive writing in primary schools. Teachers and parents were very particular that their pupil had a handwriting that was worth framing. These students were liked and appreciated.

Despite the best efforts of my parents, grandparents and teachers, I could never develop a clear, succinct, legible and beautiful pearl-like handwriting. As a result, I suffered first at examinations and then in personal life as my girlfriends often complained that they could not decipher what I wrote. It was when I realized the advantages and disadvantages of handwriting.old-german-434739_640

I envied those whose handwriting received laudatory praise and developed a deep inferiority complex within. But my bad and illegible handwriting continued to haunt and punish me for many years till a time when my professional work was done first on typewriters and then on desktop or laptop computers.

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But still I was severely handicapped as my handwritten notes often enough created problems as I had to struggle to read my handwriting to translate information into my news stories during my long years of reporting.

After marriage despite taking elaborate notes of the grocery items desired by my life companion, to my amazement and her anger, I brought home things and products other than what she had desired.

Personal letter writing was and continues to be a skill that was taught by teachers and elders. I don’t know of others were but receiving a hand written letter from parents, brothers, sisters, friends and those beholden to heart used to be a great feeling.

When I started living away from parents first with grandparents and then with aunties and uncles a letter from my mother, father or elder brother in the Army used to be a great moment of joy. I used to wait, for the postman to arrive and would sometimes run to him to ask if he had any post for me.

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idea-605766_640Sometimes, he would hand over few letters, and then I was eager to open all of them and read all of them at once forgetting that it was impossible. Only Sundays, there used to be a postal holiday, so there was no excitement.

I have preserved some of those letters and sometimes read them particularly those which either had information or were dear to me for their style. Some have been destroyed as they lost relevance or are of interest to me.

I must mention here that while handwriting of my father like me was difficult to read, my mother wrote in a clear and legible style.

But on the serious note, letters and handwritten notes and diaries have been a source of history books and sometimes have even helped detectives and police to solve criminal acts of all hues and colours.

On the one hand, letters were used to impart knowledge and sometimes as tools for behavioural corrections and life lessons, on the other some letters proved to be treasures for some.

India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s letters to his daughter Indira from prisons continues to be a fascinating piece of literature. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi equally wrote simple, straight forward and yet lucid letters to his colleagues, associates and friends that are now a source of authentic information for biographers and historians.

Archives and museums store these historical notes as documents, and they are valuable sources for academicians and journalists.

So the big question is whether discontinuation of cursive writing or handwriting would prove to be an asset for children in Finland. Would these Finish children with their digital excellence, when they grow and occupy important positions in society and government, would fare better over those who have learnt writing with own hands and have later or simultaneously gained digital knowledge.

The answer is not simple, and only guesstimates can be made. In my understanding, a child would be much better off if he, she or they had excellence and command over both but then a debate must take place before a decision is made.

To me handwriting, despite having a bad and illegible script, remains a source of joy and pleasure.


Dr Satish Misra is a Senior Journalist and a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation)

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Taazakhabar News Bureau
Taazakhabar News Bureau
Taazakhabar News Bureau is a team of seasoned journalists led by Neeraj Mahajan. Trusted by millions readers worldwide.

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