Handwriting will no longer be taught in Finnish schools

芬兰学校将不再开设写字课

From 2016 handwriting will no longer be taught in Finnish schools

Handwriting is dead, long live keyboard skills!

书写已逝,键盘技能万岁！

So says the Finnish education system. From 2016 handwriting will no longer be taught in Finnish schools. And when a high-performing country like Finland makes an educational move, the rest of us who are slipping down the international ladder of academic performance should at least consider whether there would be any benefit in following in their footsteps.

这是芬兰教育制度所传达的信息.从2016年开始,芬兰学校的写字课将不复存在.当像芬兰这样一个教育如此发达的国家有此行动时,其他在学术表现逊色的国家至少应该想想效仿芬兰是否能带来益处.

Should we ditch handwriting lessons too?

我们是不是也应该废除写字课？

Does handwriting matter?

书写重要吗？

Most would agree that everyone should at least be able to pick up a pen or pencil and craft a message that others can read. But beyond legibility, does it matter how you form your letters when you hand write?

很多人都同意每个人至少应能拿起笔写出清晰可辨的信息.但是除了可读性之外,书写的方式真的重要吗？

There is research linking fluent handwriting with better written compositions. But the key isn't the quality, form or style of the handwriting, but rather the automaticity of the handwriting. That is, the less you have to concentrate on getting your letters right, the more brain space you can devote to getting your message right. So, your handwriting just needs to feel natural for you.

有研究表明流畅的书写与更好的文笔具有相关性.但关键不在于书写的质量、形式或风格,而在于书写的自动化程度.也就是说,你在写好字上花的精力越少,你构思文章的精力就越多.因此,你的书写只需自然流畅即可.

Typing versus handwriting

打字vs手写

Writing automaticity is just as easily achieved on a keyboard. It is actually more time efficient to teach a child to type than it is to teach them a particular handwriting style. By the time they are eight years old, they can already type faster than they can handwrite.

写字的自动化程度很容易通过键盘来实现.实际上,教一个孩子打字比教他们一种特定的字体有效率多了.等到他们八岁的时候,他们打字速度已经比手写要快了.

In 2016, the national standardized literacy and numeracy tests, NAPLAN, will be completed online. We can assume this means students will type their compositions rather than handwrite them. And perhaps the nation's writing scores will improve as a result. Typed written assessments typically score more highly than handwritten compositions. Assessors rate them as better organized, and, quite simply, easier to read.

2016年,芬兰国家标准化识读与运算测试（NAPLAN）将采用机试.我们可以认为,这意味着考生们会用键盘打字而非手写,而且全国整体的写作分数也可能会有所提高.一般来说,打出来的文章比手写的文章得分更高.阅卷者会认为打出来的文章构思更好,当然,也更易读.