A new twist on an old skill -- handwriting

My son Tavish came back from his first day of school today and as he was telling me about a million different things he said something that really caught my attention.

"Dad, Mrs. Dickson said we're going to learn handwriting," he said.

Handwriting, what is that?

In these days of the mini computers and text messaging I thought handwriting was a long gone thing of the past. But my son's Grade 3 class will be learning the skill.

Tavish during a lighter moment.

Tavish's sister Rebekah did not learn handwriting. She's now in Grade 7 and couldn't physically write a sentence if her life depended on it. Text it, no problem, type it, no problem but write it, big problem. I don't believe handwriting is anywhere in the curriculum but certain teachers, such as Mrs. Dickson, take it upon themselves to pass along the skill.

I remember learning handwriting in Grade 3. I also remember the days when all your assignments had to be handwritten, double spaced and legible. It wasn't until high school when teachers began expecting essays to be submitted typed. Ask a student today what a typewriter is and see what type of a reaction you'll get!

Computers have made handwriting a thing of the past. Why write something when you can type it twice as fast?

I still write in my journals with a pen. I think it reflects a bit of my personality. Some days the writing is perky and bright, other days  it's sloppy. By just glancing at the page you can almost get a sense of how that day was so many years ago without ever reading a single word. The ebb and flow of the pen almost tells a story itself.

I'm happy Tavish is learning this new skill and I think I'll send Mrs. Dickson a note -- a handwritten one at that -- expressing my feelings. Maybe I'll write it in Latin...