For centuries, official documents were
penned in beautiful hand-written form. Penmanship was considered an
art-form, not simply communication.
When schools stopped teaching
penmanship it was a sad day for America. Think of those early
historical writings, the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and others. What a loss. Some of the most beautiful
verse the world has ever known was penned in "long hand" or
cursive writing.
Indeed, we are losing a discipline that
teaches kids something far more important than simply putting ink on paper. Cursive
writing teaches patience-- it teaches self-control and
self-discipline. Those are LIFE SKILLS.
We now live in a world filled with spoiled brats who always want instant gratification. Many people give up on things long before they ever reach any worthwhile goals. As a result, they never attain the level of expertise they could if they would have kept going.
It takes an estimated 10,000 hours of practice for a musician to reach virtuoso level. Think what the world would lose if everyone gave up because they were not mastering their instrument fast enough. There is no such thing as instant learning. The same holds true with visual art. Mastery of any discipline takes time, energy, and perseverance. You can't "jack in" and have Morpheus load you with the mastery of any skill. That's the stuff of cult fiction.
It seems, for lack of patience, we are on a fast track to mediocrity.
In the words of the Bard of Avon, "What fools these mortals be."
