Penmanship As an Endangered Skill

Penmanship As an Endangered Skill

 

I hope my generation will be left our pens as we hold fast to the distinctive eloquence of the note written by hand.

 

From the Wall Street Journal

In a world gone so fully digital that some elementary schools have made the decision to stop teaching penmanship, it is a relief to read an article about the choice of pens for handwritten notes ("Don't Forget (How) to Write!," Off Duty, Sept. 6).

Experts say that a person's handwriting, once it has become his own, is a window on his personality, a glimpse into what makes him tick, as personal as his smile, his speaking voice, his laugh. Anyone who has looked through a box of old letters knows that the writer's hand brings him back almost as vividly as a photograph. We can hear his voice in the bold or delicate tracings across the page. An email or text can't compare.

I hope my generation will be left our pens, elegant stationery and beautiful greeting cards for a while longer, and that we will be able to enjoy the warmth of a penned message and the comfort of snail mail for a few more years, as we hold fast to the distinctive eloquence of the note written by hand.

Maggie McGirr

Greenwich, Conn.

 

It isn't only the practice of writing that is disappearing. The ability to read handwriting is also vanishing. It's an unfortunate trend that I am determined to resist. I always carry a fountain pen, and I use it frequently. When I buy bulk food items at a grocery store and must write the item number on the bag, I always write the number out in very legible cursive writing. Rather than writing 4,736 I write out the words: four-thousand seven-hundred thirty-six.

Kevin Cox

Charlottesville, Va.