A possible good omen re handwriting and today's culture -

spending absolutely too much time with my TV's remote control the
other day, I noted that even the Disney Channel now draws youngsters'
attention to handwriting: in one episode of an otherwise silly weekend
cartoon.

The episode of Disney's "Dave the Barbarian" that ran (actually
re-ran) yesterday (Sunday, January 8, 2006) showed the
sixteen-year-old Dave having to pass an initiation-ordeal, traditional
for sixteen-year-olds in his fictitious kingdom, called the "Pillage
Mitzvah": testing the skills needed to function as an effective
barbarian warrior.
Dave seemed bound for failure, as he had gotten a failing grade
on every skill ... until the master of the ordeals tested the final
skill, the ultimate trial: "Penmanship!" Here, quoth the
ordeals-master, Dave must, within a time-limit, create an impeccably
phrased and beautifully calligraphed "Notice of Intent to Pillage" and
fasten this to the door of a house.
Well, young Dave (working ambidextrously, with dip-pens - he
bent or broke quite a few in the process) within a minute or less
creates and nails up a document (handwritten in Italic with a bit of
Blackletter) whose writing and marginal decorations/illustrations (if
not content) would have done credit to many a well-known and
oft-published scribe of today ... for this, he gets top marks and he
passes his initiation because, beams the ordeals-master, "Penmanship
counts for 70% of the Pillage Mitzvah grade."

While this quite likely satirizes the recent change in the SAT exam
taken by many USA sixteen-year-olds (much, though not 70%, of the SAT
score now relies on a timed handwritten essay which regrettably does
not demand factual accuracy or correct spelling), possibly it at least
called some kids' attentions to the subject of handwriting.

Trying to nudge penmanship in the direction of young children and adults is like this emoticon...

I have read a few articles stating that penmanship aids the learning process. When one writes what he reads, or summarizes in writing what he just read, it helps retain the information. Trying to learn without writing is like trying to fly a kite without wind. You can drag that kite behind you all you want but it still won't fly.

...and, our personalities have been lost to a monitor and keyboard.

I believe that a person's visible handwriting is a clue to his soul. It is just like the saying about eyes; they are the window to the soul. In our current age, how much handwritten material does one ever get to see? Letters, envelopes, work efforts are all done by a keyboard unless one belongs the the world of "snail mail"; the fountain pen folks! I am thankful there are still people who use their hands to write. Chrysoulla