The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand---a system of rapid handwriting, and now it's threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2011, just 15% of the most 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive  .The rest? Block letters. And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive. At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Older students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn't affect their grades. There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter? It was at University of Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity  can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating. The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive  opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better-a lifelong benefit. It doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George's County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade. There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological  wiring, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding. What is the author's attitude towards this debate?
Devotion. Encouragement. critical. Objective.