Penmanship in the 21st Century

How important is penmanship in the 21st Century? I mean, we use computers for everything from jotting down notes to filling out applications. Keyboards have become the new pencil, and paper has been replaced by the computer screen. So why should we even teach writing in our elementary schools to the kids of the future? Well first, penmanship is a defining characteristic. It can give away alot about your work and how much you care about your work. Sloppy, messy handwriting normally shows a person in a rush while neat and linear writing shows care and time was taken.

Second, bad handwriting may put you in a situation where you may lose out on something compared to a person with neat handwriting. Today at my job, I was asked to analyze and do data inquires off student inquiry cards. Now, you would think since these kids want to come to the University, they would take they time and fill out the card the best they can. Well, that was not exactly the case. It looked like 75% of the students filled out the application with their eyes closed while the other quarter didn’t even fill in all the information. As a result, I was not able to enter their name in the system.

Sometimes we spend too much time stuck to the computer screen and forget that your handwriting is an art. It is something that defines your personality and we don’t realize it because of the constipation we have due to the computer. We must not forget about the elementary roots that made us grow into the human we are today and practice them each and every day.