When’s the last time you received a handwritten letter?

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Photo from FontFont’s flickr

Note Writing is imperative during my grade school years. I remember starting with a date on the uppermost right side of the page; 07-16-96, short for July 16 of 1996. I copy exactly what my teacher writes on the board. I will underline a word and encircle it three times like how she wanted to exaggerate on it.

I have a good penmanship. My teachers would love me to copy a passage from the book to the board when they’re feeling slack. My seatmates adore my notes. In high school, my friends begged to photocopy my notebook. I really like writing with my hands. I’m proud of it and I enjoy the attention, especially the ladies in college since it’s peculiar for a guy to have a beautiful penmanship.

But in my second year in college, I don’t write as much on paper anymore. I used my phone to take photos of my professor’s scribbles. There was this particular professor who said that his only request from us is to give him heads up if we’re going to take a picture; and he will smile or act like a passionate lecturer.

People now use their smartphones to list grocery items or laptop to write a mail. It’s easier that way. We just need this small box in our pocket to note anything. It’s perfectly legible too.

It’s convenient to write this post using my laptop than in paper. I will have to type it anyway if I handwritten this, to reach you. But I miss the praise I get from my penmanship. It’s my style; parts of my individuality are imprinted on every curve of letter a and the dot on letter j.

“Schools don’t care how a child holds her pencil as long as she can read” (Suddath, 2009). Education would only care if you fared pass on a test. It won’t grade your penmanship. And in standardized tests, we don’t need to write. We just choose the letter or shade the circle corresponding to the right answer. There’s also spur of tablet and computer use in schools.

It’s true that performance won’t be affected whether you have a legible handwriting or not. It’s just that, it’s us. Using our hands to write is human. When we receive a typewritten letter, it can be from anybody because the font is computerized. But if you open a letter and you see the first handwritten word, you know who wrote it. It’s each person’s distinct feature.

Would you mourn the death of handwriting?

Source:
Mourning the Death of Handwriting; TIME