Writing forces us to persevere

How many times a week do you pick up a pen? And how many times do you go to the keyboard?

In the past year there has been less handwriting than before. Children had to do the majority of their schoolwork with a mouse and keyboard.

That’s why Handwriting Week is all the more special this year.

It is important to constantly remind students of their own abilities, skills, and knowledge, says Renata Kern, coordinator of Handwriting Week 2021 at the Šmartno under Šmarna gora Primary School (OŠ Šmartno pod Šmarno goro).

Writing by hand forces us to mentally concentrate, persevere, and create something of our own.

Renata Kern

Lettering is also line drawing, and it is not just a means of communication or learning to write. Working with our hands is very satisfying. That’s why I support various forms of creative work, in these times especially – the kind of work that is far from the screens, emphasizes the coordinator.

Letonja Bratov Elementary School in Šmartno at Paka (OŠ bratov Letonja Šmartno ob Paki) also participates in Handwriting Week. Mojca A. Juras, a Slovenian language teacher, has noticed that this skill is slowly disappearing. She explains that this makes her sad because writing is kind of like a person’s personal signature.

She is convinced that the use of handwriting should be required in Slovenian lessons.

I always try to assess also for handwriting. I try to teach children that what is written must be legible and, last but not least, beautiful as much as possible.

Mojca A. Juras

Once a week she gives the children a task that they have to write by hand, then the children take a photo of their work and send it. Some research shows that writing affects the brain and development.

In November this elementary school launched the We Write Friendly Letters project, in which they sent 500 letters. It has now grown into an intergenerational correspondence.

Points to Consider

1. When do you remember the material better – when you write it by hand or type it on the computer?
2. Can you write in cursive?
3. Will handwriting completely disappear in the future?

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The original version of this article was published on 21^st January 2019, updated 31^st March 2023.