One hears off and on about kids these days not learning cursive hand-writing well these days, or schools not placing much emphasis on hand-writing at all. Ditto for lack of emphasis on spelling.
"Let kids focus on the creative aspects of writing without getting bogged down by details such as spelling and handwriting, especially when they have to turn in the final version typed out in Word which has a spell-checker" is the view adopted by several urban, progressive schools where children use word processors like MS Word.
Is this view justified? If I look at my own lifestyle today - I cannot think of the last time I hand wrote a letter or document! Fast forward 10 years from now - will our next generation ever need to worry about hand-writing and spelling? Personally, I think not everyone uses a spell checker while typing emails and knowing the correct spellings of words in a language you're supposed to be fluent in, is necessary. I'm not convinced about the necessity for perfectly formed hand-written letters though.
Apart from skills that are "dying" so-to-speak, there are other skills that are creeping up as the new skills of the digital generation. I was wondering, would typing be something all kids should learn? Given that they will be using computers a LOT all their lives, should they not get out of the hunt-and-peck mode of typing with the 2 forefingers? Should all kids not be taught to type effortlessly so they can focus on the thinking rather than typing?
Would be nice to get others thoughts on this. What do English teachers think?
It shall take some time for this shift of priorities in several schools, and till then teachers continue take it upon themselves to insist on good handwriting and correct spellings. As we continue to instill effective creative writing skills, this too remains to be an important issue. The boards need to change the whole way exams are conducted, if this would be the case. We consistently check children to keep trying to write legibly, as so to learn their spellings well. To have our brains oiled well on this account is a good idea, Why do you think there are international spellingbee contests? We learn that children are ambidextrous when they are little, and then later the shift happens, tells us also about which hand the child writes with, later we start to insist on handwriting. To hold a childs hand to start making him write the alphabets or the 'akshar' in hindi or the other regional languages? What would we do? Bring the little one in front of a PC or laptop and make it look at the alphabets? We were told as children that a persons character is judged by his handwriting, books have been published on this. No there are too many reasons to prove handwriting and spellings are important in a childs learning years.
Ofcourse I do not for a moment say that to teach typing to children so as to enable them to jab efficiently on their keyboards is not required. But to ignore these skills of handwriting and spelling? Absolutely not. Atleast not till exams which are held expect children to write reams and reams of stuff.
To emphasize the essential quality of writing well here is an article that tells us something to chew on:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=16325eeb-7479-4116-b63d-e3672acb44e6