What We Lose When We Stop Writing by Hand
fall by the wayside: to stop doing something, usually because it is difficult or other things are more important
Teenagers in one US classroom were shocked when a test required them to write one sentence in cursive. The room filled with gasps of surprise at the unfamiliar task.
Author David McCullough once said, “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.” He was talking about writing in general, but many believe that handwriting encourages a special kind of thinking.
In today’s digital age, this skill has started to fall by the wayside. Typing is faster, but handwriting makes us slow down. It gives us time to reflect on our thoughts. And when taking notes, we don’t have time to copy every word, so we summarize in our own words. This is an important skill for processing new information. Studies show students who write notes by hand remember more than those who type.
But handwriting is disappearing from daily life. In the United States, many schools no longer teach cursive. A survey found that more than one-third of students cannot write the alphabet clearly. California now requires elementary students to learn cursive, and other states are moving in the same direction.
Sample sentences
Many New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside after only a few weeks.
His guitar practice fell by the wayside when he started a new job.
My morning walks fell by the wayside once the weather got cold.
Origin
This expression comes from the Bible. A farmer threw seeds by hand, and some fell on the path beside the field. Those seeds could not grow and were lost. Today we use the phrase for people or things that are left behind or forgotten.
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