Why I Will Never Surrender My Pen and Pad by Allison Miller

I grew up in a time when handwriting was an actual subject you were graded on.

It was called penmanship.

Being raised in a family of educators didn’t help either.

I was required to practice my penmanship at home and at school on pages and pages of handwriting paper with rows and rows of one dotted line sandwiched between two solid lines. If we were lucky, the lines would be in color thus breaking up the tedium.

By tedium I mean that when we were in school, we literally had to practice for one entire class period – like 30 to 40 minutes.

We started with printing upper and lower case letters and eventually migrated to writing in cursive like grown-ups. There was also a Strategic Migration Plan based on complexity – letters that were confined to just below the dotted line were for rookies (i.e., a, e, c, or u) while the more experienced writers could practice letters that went above the dotted line (i.e., b, h or l) or – wait for it - below the solid line (think g, j, or p).

Since the advent and subsequent explosion of technology, handwriting has become secondary to typing. The Washington Post notes that cursive writing has all but vanished from American elementary education. 

Some see it as an art that is becoming obsolete and handwritten letters and thank you notes passé. And as one who still enjoys writing and sending handwritten communiques, my recipients often tell me my handwriting is so ornate they can hardly understand it.

Sigh.

Thankfully, however, there has been a movement to switch off the laptop and break out the pen and paper, particularly when it comes to notetaking for students.

Lucky for me all of that penmanship practice was actually good for my brain.

Researchers and fans alike tout the brain-boosting benefits of taking time to develop one's thoughts, sharpen our memory, or work through a creative idea by writing or even the calming effect of physically putting the pen to paper.

I can tell you that I am a living witness to the value of taking notes by hand. Here’s why:

Mr. Geddes, my chemistry teacher in the 11^th grade, was a huge fan of not only reviewing but REWRITING your notes from class as a regular part of your daily homework.

As a scientist, he assured us there was something that happened differently in the brain when we write by hand. It’s like creating a groove in our dense heads that helps us remember.

So let me get this straight: I am a music major who is committed to slogging through chemistry because I have no choice. However, you now want me to take an hour to rewrite the notes from class (for which I will not receive a grade) before I actually start my real homework (for which I will receive a grade?)

Yeah, right.

But I tried it because I LOVE to write! Nothing gets me going like a clean sheet of paper and ink pens. (I will delve into my obsession with ink pens and other office supplies in my next post - it's like a sickness.)

And me – the right-brained wannabe musician who is the absolute least scientific student on the planet – got an “A”!

I never forgot this lesson. An “A” in chemistry was a tremendous victory for me and a boost to my self-esteem. All because of a little sweat equity.

If my academic miracle isn’t inspiration enough, I hope the research and writings that echo my experience and my sentiment will at least help you consider writing more.

I, for one, will never surrender my pen and pad!

Attributions:

Cursive handwriting is disappearing from public schools by T. Rees Shapiro. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/cursive-handwriting-disappearing-from-public-schools/2013/04/04/215862e0-7d23-11e2-a044-676856536b40_story.html

Why Writing by Hand Could Make You Smarter by William R. Klemm, Ph.D. - Memory Medic. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201303/why-writing-hand-could-make-you-smarter

7 ways writing by hand can save your brain by Yohana Desta. http://mashable.com/2015/01/19/handwriting-brain-benefits/#BjBQDmmE4Eqy

Here’s Why You Should Take Notes by Hand (Instead of with a Laptop) by Elena Prokopets. http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/heres-why-you-should-take-notes-hand-instead-with-laptop.html?mid=20150121&ref=mail&uid=197031&feq=daily

The Benefits of Writing with Good Old Fashioned Pen and Paper by Catherine Pearson. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/writing-on-paper_n_5797506.html