There is as much reason to teach typing as there is a reason to teach a class in how to use the XBox controller. Nobody under the age of 25 has any trouble learning how to type.
I don't know if handwriting is or isn't a big deal. I don't remember having to do it after kindergarten. 3rd grade seems a bit too old, perhaps the author is really just embarrassed her kid is still failing the slow kid's class?
It would be interesting to see what would happen to society if handwriting class was abolished. Home Economics and running at recess were tossed out and now everyone is obese and in debt.
Nobody under the age of 25 has any trouble learning how to type.
Hmm, I don't know about you, but about 4-5 years ago when I learned to type it was pretty difficult. It took me a year school classes to get up to 40 wpm.
And recently I started re-learning how to type - using Colemak. But it's significantly easier, since I already have the finger dexterity. Either way, I think that your exaggeration is slightly too much. For younger kids, learning to type isn't as easy as you seem to think it is. (And most of the people I know now only type at 50, maybe 60 wpm - had they been taught earlier and with more emphasis, they might be typing at 100 or 120.)
I don't know if handwriting is or isn't a big deal. I don't remember having to do it after kindergarten. 3rd grade seems a bit too old, perhaps the author is really just embarrassed her kid is still failing the slow kid's class?
It would be interesting to see what would happen to society if handwriting class was abolished. Home Economics and running at recess were tossed out and now everyone is obese and in debt.