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Kota
With the increase in computer use, many think schools do not need to put the emphasis that they used to on basic handwriting skills or mental mathematics skills.
To what extent do you agree?
In light of widespread of digital devices, it is often said to be no longer neccesary for schools to emphasise handwriting or mental mathematics skills. I tend to disagree with this opinion because training for these skills helps students enhance literacy and reasoning skills.
Analogue skills play an important role for children's cognitive development. Practice for handwriting assists children in connecting letters and sounds. It is also effective for memorising correct spellings. Mental mathematics exercise grows children's abstract operational skills. In addition of these foundational importance, these abilities are useful in real life even when technology is almost always accessable. Intelligible handwriting conveys meaning clearly, showing care for readers. Mental calculation makes it easy to compare prices at shopping.
On the other hand, it is true that the opportunities to write by hand is decreasing thanks to keyboard. Typed documents are preferable in most academic and business settings. Similarly, digital devices are faster and more accurate to handle numbers. Given these advantages, it sounds somewhat reasonable to claim that schools focus less on analogue skills and more on digital literacy.
To summarise, although they may have been losing their practicality gradually, I think handwriting and mental mathmatics are still important skills taught at school.
Aug 23, 2024 11:25 PM
Corrections · 2
With the increase in computer use, many think schools do not need to put the
emphasis that they used to on basic handwriting skills or mental mathematics
skills. To what extent do you agree? In light of widespread of digital devices,
it is often said to be no longer neccesary for schools to emphasise handwriting
or mental arithmetic skills. I tend to disagree with this opinion because
training for these skills helps students enhance their literacy and reasoning abilities.
Analogue skills play an important role in children's cognitive development.
Practicing handwriting assists children in connecting letters and sounds. It
is also effective for memorising correct spellings. Mental mathematics exercise
grows children's abstract operational skills. In addition to being of fundamental
importance, these abilities are useful in real life even when technology is
almost always accessable. Intelligible handwriting conveys meaning clearly,
showing care for readers. Mental calculation makes it easy to compare prices when
shopping. On the other hand, it is true that opportunities to write by hand
are decreasing thanks to keyboards. Typed documents are preferable in most
academic and business settings. Similarly, digital devices are faster and more
accurate in handling numbers. Given these advantages, it sounds somewhat
reasonable to claim that schools should focus less on analogue skills and more on
digital literacy. To summarise, although they may be gradually losing their
necessity, I think handwriting and mental mathmatics are still
important skills that should be taught at school.
Well argued again.
August 25, 2024
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Kota
Language Skills
English, Japanese
Learning Language
English
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