I don't know how fast my middle-school daughter can type, but she doesn't touch-type. Her school does insist that they spend a lot of time using computers for research and writing, and they even take some standardized tests on computers, but they do not teach the kids how to type. Seems to me if you are going to have the kids using computers, then typing should be an early skill to teach them as well.
On the flip side, I can see that for kids these days it must be much harder to learn to type. So much of their time is spent using computers, and so even spending an hour a day on touch-typing lessons is going to pale in comparison to the amount of time spent not touch typing because you don't know enough yet to touch type all the time. And that has to make the barrier much harder to overcome.
> Her school does insist that they spend a lot of time using computers for research and writing, and they even take some standardized tests on computers, but they do not teach the kids how to type. (emphasis mine)
That's just asinine. When I was in high school 30 years ago, if a school had insisted that all reports be typewritten and yet did not offer typing classes, I'm pretty sure some job losses would have occurred. What other tools shall we insist that children use without instruction? Hand them pencils in 1st grade and demand that they produce legible communication that they're left to just figure out on their own? Here's a band saw for shop class, have a bookshelf done by end of day?
That seems ridiculous. They were having us do things like reader rabbit 15 years ago in elementary school. By middle school I was already typing at 80 wpm which unfortunately was faster than the fastest speeds for most of the typing games they were having us do at the times.
Granted I'd imagine this could be a problem with funding for computers in certain areas, but I'd at least expect them to have typing classes early on if they are also expecting you to work with computers in other classes. This is one of those skills that is very beneficial to start on early.
My father types nearly every day and can barely do 20 wpm.
You could find one of those online typing tutors for her. Why rely on the school for this, if they let you down you can just go around that using the web.
On the flip side, I can see that for kids these days it must be much harder to learn to type. So much of their time is spent using computers, and so even spending an hour a day on touch-typing lessons is going to pale in comparison to the amount of time spent not touch typing because you don't know enough yet to touch type all the time. And that has to make the barrier much harder to overcome.