Future of Pens

[LeeR]

so we need to get into the stylus creating business.

[...]
Phil

And you can now use up all your crappy refills for styluses (stylii?).

Personally, as long as schools focus on the basics of reading, "some form of writing", and arithmetic, I'd be OK with cursive disappearing. I print everything, unless I sign my name, so I'm not sure it is that much of an issue.

However, I fear that with the loss of cursive in these schools, some other useless subject will fill the void. My oldest daughter was a school teacher in middle school in the Denver area, and I can only shake my head in disbelief at the administrative crap she had to deal with. She took a year off to stay at home with new baby, so that is an incredibly noble sacrifice in our present economy. It has also been wonderful for her older 4 year old daughter.

OK, I've stepped down from my soapbox.

 

[renowb]

Well, maybe not in our lifetime, but just like antiques that people collect now, pens will be antiques, and they will be collectible items!
Just watch Pawn Stars, etc. There is a lot of stuff sold on there that used to be used every day back in the day. Now, people want them! Just sayin....not in our lifetime, though.

 

[terryf]

I don't believe pens will die in my lifetime - the more elctronic paraphinalia that is installed at my office, the more paperwork we end up having to do - and mostly hand written.

I go through a FP cartridge a day, at least.

 

[BlackPearl]

You all know what amazes me most about this thread? The commonly misspelled words in the comments!

Who cares if the cursive is pretty looking if one uses wright instead of write or loose instead of lose?

I do apologize, when I was in school in the 50's and 60's dyslexia was not understood, so I do spell badly, and you have no idea how hard it was for me to learn how to read, but I can due to my mothers mentoring.

But I can not write worth a damm. I can not even read my own handwriting.

 

[titan2]

A quick googling identified that the issue is that some districts are no longer teaching cursive writing. Children are still being taught how to form letters and how to spell. Children are still being required to do homework and write papers.

While I haven't given the idea much thought, I don't really have a problem with it. If it leaves more time to fill their brains with more valuable information that will help them (and the country in general) be competitive, I'm all for it. After all, all kids used to learn shorthand, right?

Glancing around my office, I am struck with how much I write. I have boxes of filled notebooks that must be retained as the info is related to some lawsuit or another. Flipping through a few of these, I am only slightly surprised to find almost no cursive writing. My scribble is almost always printed. In fact, it's almost completely in 'small caps'. Meaning all letters are capitals. True capital letters being larger than the rest. I cannot say that learning cursive writing has aided me in life. I'd have just as soon that they hadn't wasted time on that and taught me something else, instead.

It is worth remembering that the amount that our kids learn in school is limited not by the amount of useful material that could be taught, but by the amount of time available to teach it. If there is something more valuable to be taught than cursive writing, I think that they should teach that other thing.

Cursive writing is valuable.....jotting down a word or two and I'll print it with a mixture of upper/lower case. More than than and it'll be cursive....much faster than printing. If I gotta do a paper......break out the PC!!!

Learning some things are a pain....but, you must train the mind & muscles to act together without thought! Ask any touch typist.....quick, where's this letter on the keyboard? Don't know.....let me put my fingers on the home keys and I'd have it in a split second!!! (and, without thought!) It'll also teach self discpline and mastery. You need to exercise the old 'gray matter', build those neural paths....expand your capabilities!

Barney

 

[PenMan1]

If this really concerns you, read MegaTrends, by John Nesbit (I think anyway). The whole premise of this book is that with each technological advance comes a need for "touch" or embrace of traditional values.

And....For the record, this looks like it could be a RECORD SETTING YEAR for pen sales...with fountain pens leading the way! WHOWOULDATHUNKIT?

 

[monark88]

I promised myself I would not respond. I am a retired-Ok,OK, I quit teaching 10 years ago. I had 7 1/2 years formal ed. before going into teaching with Rose colored glasses thinking I would be able to make a difference-to get kids to learn how to "think". Well, I was a failure. I had no idea that public education would beat me. It did. My wife just retired this summer. She had won the honorable "Crystal Apple Award". She also became fed up with Administration.

In my opinion, its the Mug and Jug theory of public education that is at fault here. Bring your empty mug to school and fill from the jug of knowledge. All too passive, all to safe.

Ok, I quit. Just my shortened .02 cents worth and my Opinion Only.

russ

 

[IPD_Mrs]

I keep reading that more and more schools are going to stop teaching penmanship. Hummm, I wonder what the will do for pens in the distant future. Our Grand children may not be too interested in them.

Paul, I don't think that when it comes to "pens" our grandchildren will be that different than the children currently in schools (of course there is only about 2 years give or take between my currently youngest grandchild and My Sister's youngest child.)

My grandson already LOVES pens. (Don't have a clue where he got that from.) He will take a felt bag and put a bic in it and hand it to someone and say "I made a pen." LOL.

Yes, I know that he is being brought up (at least part time) in a house that not only values the written art but also the fine writing instruments it takes to do so.

My niece and nephew however, do not have a pen turner living in their household and they still write cursive and love getting pretty pens.

Given your comment about schools not teaching penmanship, I feel a need to point out that schools are not going to teach cursive writing - children will still be taught to print (and I believe though won't swear to it) to sign their names.

At any rate - don't give up making beautiful creations just yet.

Mrs.

 

[GoodTurns]

just a week ago my son asked for a fountain pen. finished it tonight and he has been practicing with it for an hour or so...wants to be able to take it to school (probably going to be a writer of some sort) and impress people with it. 17 years old and wants to impress people with REAL writing...not texting.

The pen will live.

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Cursive writing is just the tip of the ice burg. How long has it been since the clerk at checkout correctly counted back your change? Oh, I forgot, we only use plastic. When the lights go out and the UPS runs down now, all commerce must stop. No one can count money, add, subtract, multiply or divide in their mind or even on paper any more. Oh, I forgot again, no pens! Many of our younger generation can only wright or speak in txt msg lngage. Sorry about this rant. No I am not! I am sorry about lying about being sorry, though.
Charles

Charles, this is in part a great point. However, all of these things are being taught in the schools. Even in our own generation (boomers) - there are still those who have difficulty in true Arithmetic and in my son's generation (X) there are those who have great skill in the same. My son for example can calculate the cost of an order and make change in his head faster than the cash register can in most cases. I personally, have to work at remembering basic multiplication and division tables (and I grew up on the core "reading, writing, & arithmetic" Lol
Math was NEVER my strong suit since I hated it. However in school I tested into advanced math in middle school and had completed Algebra I before Highschool (- I managed to pass the class.) In highschool we were required only TWO math classes - since I had completed Algebra I, I took Geometry my freshman year (which I liked because of the proofs) and never took another math class the rest of my time in highschool.
I was late to go to college (had my children first like many of the Baby Boomer females). When I got to college at around 29 years of age my degree required ONE math course. I waited until my Senior year to take it (couldn't put it off much longer than that!) At that point I was nearly 33 years old and hadn't had a math class since I was 14 years old. I decided to take STATISTICS. I was warned .. but I did it anyway. Got an A+ but worked my rear off to do so.
I just turned 49 - and when I went to school the syllabus said NOTHING about papers receiving a failing grade if written with "Texting language / spelling." I find it sad that now our schools need to designate what is the proper form of spelling/writing papers to persons who are "supposedly adults" when they are attending the colleges. THAT is tragic.

Mrs.

 

[IPD_Mr]

Calm down Jon. You just popped another button on your shirt puffing out your chest like a proud Papa.

 

[Smitty37]

Pay Twice anyway

I keep reading that more and more schools are going to stop teaching penmanship. Hummm, I wonder what the will do for pens in the distant future. Our Grand children may not be too interested in them.

This only applies to Public Schools. The kids of the "successful" people, that are of the finest stock, will go to Private schools. They will get all the education that they will need to maintain their distance from the riff raff that have to go to public schools.

Hmmm....I went to a public school......................What are saying..................

Riff raff lol

Hey!!! I resemble that..............

So do I, ( a public school graduate) but we are talking about the future where the people with money are not going to spend it on the community. They can afford a good education for their kids, so why should they pay twice.

Parents sending children to private schools do not get out of paying for public schools.

 

[KenV]

And here I was thinking for all these years that the lack of cursive writing skills and spelling skills had to do with having the mind associated with engineering and too many years of graduate school.

Has been an interesting read ----

Has been my observation that we generally get what the majority who elect really want -- and I was taught early on about the "golden rule" -- those that have the gold really rule.

Blessings -- and written communications will be around for a few more years --

 

[Smitty37]

Hmmmm

Cursive writing is just the tip of the ice burg. How long has it been since the clerk at checkout correctly counted back your change? Oh, I forgot, we only use plastic. When the lights go out and the UPS runs down now, all commerce must stop. No one can count money, add, subtract, multiply or divide in their mind or even on paper any more. Oh, I forgot again, no pens! Many of our younger generation can only wright or speak in txt msg lngage. Sorry about this rant. No I am not! I am sorry about lying about being sorry, though.
Charles

Charles, this is in part a great point. However, all of these things are being taught in the schools. Even in our own generation (boomers) - there are still those who have difficulty in true Arithmetic and in my son's generation (X) there are those who have great skill in the same. My son for example can calculate the cost of an order and make change in his head faster than the cash register can in most cases. I personally, have to work at remembering basic multiplication and division tables (and I grew up on the core "reading, writing, & arithmetic" Lol
Math was NEVER my strong suit since I hated it. However in school I tested into advanced math in middle school and had completed Algebra I before Highschool (- I managed to pass the class.) In highschool we were required only TWO math classes - since I had completed Algebra I, I took Geometry my freshman year (which I liked because of the proofs) and never took another math class the rest of my time in highschool.
I was late to go to college (had my children first like many of the Baby Boomer females). When I got to college at around 29 years of age my degree required ONE math course. I waited until my Senior year to take it (couldn't put it off much longer than that!) At that point I was nearly 33 years old and hadn't had a math class since I was 14 years old. I decided to take STATISTICS. I was warned .. but I did it anyway. Got an A+ but worked my rear off to do so.
I just turned 49 - and when I went to school the syllabus said NOTHING about papers receiving a failing grade if written with "Texting language / spelling." I find it sad that now our schools need to designate what is the proper form of spelling/writing papers to persons who are "supposedly adults" when they are attending the colleges. THAT is tragic.

Mrs.

Since you let the cat out of the bag vis-a-vis your age, you are the same age as my eldest give or take a tad. I went to school from the early 1940s until the middle 1950s, graduating in 1955.

I learned cursive writing before learning to print, we started cursive writing in 1st grade (I went to a small country school with no kindergarden). Learing cursive first still goes on in many countries outside the USA. I have read that there are studies showing there is a correlation between cursive writing and brain development in children. I have not looked at any of the studies myself though, so I can not say they have any validity.

The focus of education during my school years was reading, arithmetic (we called it mathematics in high school), English, spelling and reading comprehension all through my school years. I had a 1st cousin once removed who was a brilliant man who said that in order to educate anyone you need teach them only to read and write well and they can take care of the rest themselves. Our schools, in my opinion, keep falling farther and farther behind the rest of the world because we no longer teach our children to read well and don't teach them to write at all.

Just one example - I graduated from high school in 1955 with about a C+ average for the 4 years of high school English (English was my weak suit). 25 years later, without ever having taken another English course I took a CLEP examination to get credit for freshman English in college. I scored in the 92nd (A or A+ in generally accepted grading at the time) percentile compared to students who took the test immediately after completing an appropriate college freshman English course. That should NEVER have been possible.

Writing is very important because when we write something we need to think it out before putting it on paper. When my children would start to complain about something I did as my father did when I complained and said "Write that down." If the complaint was real, the child would have to pull his or her thoughts together and present them in a thought out and lucid manner. That is far more important and far more educational than punching a few keys or swiping a finger across a screen full of pictures.

End of rant. (for now)

 

[sbell111]

However, I fear that with the loss of cursive in these schools, some other useless subject will fill the void.

Certainly, it's possible that this teaching time could be used for instruction on a subject that is of greater use than cursive writing.

 

[bensoelberg]

Writing is very important because when we write something we need to think it out before putting it on paper. When my children would start to complain about something I did as my father did when I complained and said "Write that down." If the complaint was real, the child would have to pull his or her thoughts together and present them in a thought out and lucid manner. That is far more important and far more educational than punching a few keys or swiping a finger across a screen full of pictures.

Smitty, that is just plain brilliant. As a young(ish) father of two, and a (now former) high school English teacher, I can truly appreciate why that works on many levels and plan to use it in the future. Thank you for sharing that pearl.

 

[el_d]

Ha, I was just wondering about pens. Sorry to start such a heated discussion. I wasn't even wondering if it was a good or bad thing that they are (or appear to) be giving less attention to penmanship (guess I should have written curvus or what ever it is). In my day it was called writing, first you learned to print and then "write". Anyway go ahead with your discussions if you want, I'll sit here and wonder about the poor, forgotten pen.

Way to stir the pot Paul......:biggrin:.......good one....:wink:

I think that cursive writing is an art form. Some have gotten very good at it because they take pride in their craft and others see writing as a necessity that doesn't deserve anything more that jotting down a note.

As long as we penturners offer beautiful writing instruments I believe there will be someone who appreciates our art......

 

[tt1106]

Morning Gents. It's not writing, it's communicating in general. Public school is a product of culture. The school has an internet site and the children have e-mails. There is little value seen in written correspondence, because, just like everything else in our consumer culture, e-mail is instantaneous. Writing requires depth and thought. The trend these days is 60 character conversation. MY daughters can be heard frequently saying, LOL...out loud.
I'm afraid the trend is towards shorter, conversations. I would also say, if I may, that the manner in which we express ourselves is dramatically changing too. I think the appropriate word is volatile. Children express themselves almost immediately without any kind of monitor, so you get their full range of emotion from beginning to end.
I agree with the comment about schools teaching their students test passing.

 

[azamiryou]

If you go far enough back in the archives, you can probably find a post worried about the future of quills in an era of fountain pens. What's going to happen to quill-cutting? And how will kids ever learn not to knock over a pot of ink?

(I still haven't learned that last one.) :laugh:

 

[tt1106]

If you go far enough back in the archives, you can probably find a post worried about the future of quills in an era of fountain pens. What's going to happen to quill-cutting? And how will kids ever learn not to knock over a pot of ink?

(I still haven't learned that last one.) :laugh:

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

 

[Andrew_K99]

Parents sending children to private schools do not get out of paying for public schools.

In Ontario, where I live, you can get a tax credit if your children go to private school. I'd hope they offer similar in the States.

AK