FedEx Small Business Center

The art of letter writing, or even handwriting, seems to gradually be going the way of the dodo as we are inundated with more and more technology that promises to make our lives easier and more efficient. We are more likely today to text instead of make phone calls and type an email instead of writing a letter or card. Today, we constantly hear of schools that have incorporated the latest and greatest technology into the classroom, while some have stopped teaching cursive writing altogether.

In this post, FedEx highlights the work of Paper Tams, which is working to revive the art of letter writing; teaching students that paper arts can benefit their professional goals and their personal well-being. Paper Tams incorporates journaling, letter writing, and workshops into their program, and even touts the therapeutic benefits of writing. The “old-fashioned” art of writing can also be thought of as disjointed from the world of technology that we live in today, but can actually be complementary. Tammy Rhome Wright with Paper Tams posts her writings on multiple social media platforms, and sees social media as a cue to take a few extra minutes to write a card or letter of encouragement or congratulations.

NPR

April 27, 2016

A standardized test taken by U.S. high school seniors, known as the Nation’s Report Card or the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), shows an average score in both reading and math one point lower than the previous test taken in 2013. While this isn’t a drop to be too concerned about, this finding is of concern: just under 40 percent of students score at college and career ready on this test, as reported by NPR. This is significant because the NAEP is taken nationwide as a U.S. Department of Education research project, unlike state accountability tests, and it aligns well with the SAT and ACT, which also measure college and career readiness.

Another significant comparison is that in 2015, the high school graduation rate nationwide was 82 percent, not 40 percent. This means that youth who graduated from high school may still not be prepared to succeed in college or a career. The NAEP shows the disparity that our nation’s struggling students may be doing slightly worse, while high achievers may be doing slightly better.

Wall Street Journal

April 4, 2016

Researchers at Princeton University and the University of California at Los Angeles have found that students who write notes by hand generally perform better than students who type notes, according to the Wall Street Journal. Benefits to taking handwritten notes include the ability to learn better, retain information longer, and more readily grasp new ideas. Cognitive psychologist Michael Friedman at Harvard University, who studies note-taking systems, was quoted as saying, “Note-taking is a pretty dynamic process. You are transforming what you hear in your mind.”

PartnershipUs understands the relationship between handwriting and learning. Through our Literacy Through Letters program, we encourage students to write by hand instead of electronically so they can learn better and be more successful in school. The program’s handwriting exercises, such as writing letters and journaling, build their confidence in reading and improves their reading ability. As the writing exercises help improve the reading skills of students, they begin to recognize that their reading ability and intelligence will grow as they study more and persevere through challenging schoolwork. This awareness changes the mindset of students. It encourages them to use more effort and better learning strategies, which ultimately improves their grades. This finding aligns with scientific research within the Mindset Scholars Network at Stanford University and points to the effectiveness of our program.

The Psychological Benefits of Writing: Why Richard Branson and Warren Buffett Write Regularly

Entrepreneur

June 18, 2014

Gregory Ciotti, contributor for the Entrepreneur and a person who regularly writes about the benefits of handwriting, highlights the benefits of personal writing in this article. Some key benefits are that writing makes you happier, it improves thinking skills and communication, can be an expressive outlet during difficult times, and leads to better learning. Likely not a coincidence, many successful people like Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, and Bill Gates take time to write expressively. Richard Branson calls his notebook one of his essential possessions!

As we know, letter recognition and spelling are key components to literacy. By incorporating handwriting into our 'Literacy Through Letters' program, PartnershipUs seeks to increase students' letter recognition and spelling, through which their literacy skills are expected to improve. Many studies have found a link between handwriting letters and words (instead of typing or looking at them) and the ability to read.