Education is a hot button issue, our most recent submission from Don Frier takes a look at a variable we often may overlook; the importance of typing. Are the younger generations ‘illiterate’ in this means of communication? And if so, what does that mean for them?…
When I was growing up, computers were new and not altogether that effective a means of communication. E-mail hadn’t been invented, and the internet was in its’ infancy. I didn’t really start getting into computers until I was about 8, when these new-fangled “computer games†were taking off and consoles were starting to become more and more popular on the market. Still,  I don’t think I sent my first e-mail until I was 12. I did, however, take my first typing class when I was in 5th grade, well before I was actively using word processors. It is for this reason that I am able to type as quickly as I do, and can stare at the computer screen while my fingers glide across the “home†keys.
The youth of today are growing up in a time where they have a phone in their pocket that has 5 times more power in it than the computer I had at 12. They are constantly connected to the internet, and are shooting messages to a dozen friends simultaneously. They are growing up with this technology, immersed in it, and they can’t type. Now, that’s a generalization, but considering the amount of jobs which require data input through a computer screen, it isn’t that much of a reach to imagine everyone would have some level of ability with a keyboard. Especially with the necessity of college in the job market these days, and the amount of writing someone will generally do in college. Yet where are the classes which teach our children to type? We see kids constantly connected to a computer or phone, but where do they learn to use these types of devices? They instinctively feel them out and get a grasp of how to use them, but many of them never gain any true mastery over them.
If we plan on having our kids develop as proficient writers and skilled communicators, we need to look at the medium through which kids communicate. Kids don’t read because it’s hard for them to read, and others read copiously because it’s easy for them to. Is it so hard to consider that our youth might not be writing for the same type of reason? I would take a look at your school system and see if a typing class is offered at the elementary level, and if it isn’t, ask why. Breaking children of bad habits is harder than teaching them the right habit right off the bat, and considering most kids are glued to a computer screen by the age of 8, we’ve got our work cut out for us.
Article submitted by -Don FrierÂ
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My son learned how to type as well as I do by age 8 due to the interweb, as they call it. He and his buddies chat and play on-line constantly- I’m amazed at how Skype and Minecraft and Youtube connect kids so well and quickly. Texting requires a keyboard– and that IS how kids communicate, almost more than talking! Don’t worry about keyboard skills.
But check this out– in my son’s schools, National Blue Ribbons all– cursive writing is only taught briefly in third grade, and never again. Until we direct link chips in our heads, keyboarding is here to stay— handwriting,however, may as well be called handwritosaurus….