In an earlier period when students used a brush to keep a weekly diary and write their essays, they either made a mess of things with their fountain pens, or else scribbled a bunch of inelegant phrases, which were utterly ineffective in cultivating character. But with the abandonment of the weekly diary and the use of ballpoint pen to write essays, middle school students now have precious little contact with calligraphy.
早期週記、作文用毛筆書寫時，學生不是用簽字筆亂塗鴉，就是胡亂寫些不雅的字句，根本沒有修身養性的功效，而隨著學校廢除週記、與作文改用原子筆之後，國中生幾乎不接觸書法了。