August 20, 2010
I am continuously flabbergasted by the culture’s downplay of humanity in the present day’s ever increasing worship of technology. Handwriting is very human. It is no wonder we mumble on the page. If the computer is perfection, with its spell check, delete button and that clear crisp impersonal type, handwriting will always fall short. “We are only human,” you whisper.
Add to this the diminishing importance of handwriting in our children s education. Quite often teachers are ill trained to teach handwriting with the tremendous pressure to move the students quickly onto the computer.
So the question arises: why bother with handwriting? It simply celebrates our humanity!
I actually like some messiness, that “cowlick effect”-a not quite perfect touch. It shows process, someone was actually thinking about what they wrote to me. Remember we still have some human requirements for handwritten notes- the sympathy note, a thank you, and a love letter.
There’s a true story of a woman job applicant who HAND WROTE a thank you to her potential employer for their interview. Because of that touch, even though she was not the most qualified, SHE GOT THE JOB! The employer framed that thank you note and hung it in a prominent place in his office.