I started to carrying a Moleskine notebook to jot down thoughts for my writing. I use only cursive writing in my notebook and have noticed my thoughts tend to be better developed and elegant. I read an article a few months ago that showed the notebooks of Mark Twain. He constantly was taking notes representing a turn of phrase or observation that would later inspire some part of his writing. Using a notebook helps keep me on track mentally to get through the myriad of crap required of a program chair. I notice the students in my classroom that take notes do better in class than those that just sit and stare. It is discouraging to watch students to ignore the need to take notes. I also teach a college survival skills course and these first time students have no idea how to take notes. The students don't seem to know what to do with their hands unless it is a keyboard of some kind. One young lady emphatically assured me she can take all of her notes on her phone. Sorry, no dice as we don't know if students are texting or taking notes on their handheld device. The students remain unable to comprehend the importance of using a pen and paper to improve their classroom experience. The article below shows this is not just a Western phenomena, Chinese children are beginning to forget how to form characters (idioms) that represent more than just a single sound.
How writing by hand makes kids smarter - The Week
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”--Benjamin Franklin
1 comment:
That's an interesting article. I know I remember things more if I write it down. My notes never did me much better than that, tho, because I usually wrote so fast - the notes were completely illegible.
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