In which we learn that handwriting isn't what it used to be

In a shocking article in the Boston Globe we learn that handwriting is becoming more of an "art form" and that because NCLB and computers we are short-changing students from this important skill.

"Computers are just taking over," said Boles, who taught third and fourth grade at the Edward Devotion School in Brookline for more than a quarter-century.

That's just crazy. It's hard to imagine that someone, somewhere is spending more time writing on a computer than by hand. Thankfully, there is a voice of reason from a reliable source:

"Those who earn their living by teaching handwriting" (I'm not making this up) "say it has not been supplanted by e-mail and text messaging. "

The fact that people sometimes write on post-it notes and "little strips of paper" is a sure sign that we need to spend much more time refining students' hand-writing skills. I'm sure that in the near future many job interviews will include a section to determine whether applicants are able to write clear and effective post-it notes.

They do report that 85% of SATs (the essay section is hand-written) are printed, as opposed to cursive. It's good to know that this test has adopted to the way that people learn and work.