Kids Take A Break from Technology To Learn Ancient Handwriting
By: Carmen Chau
Updated: November 12, 2012
WINCHESTER, VA - A group of kids at the Shenandoah Valley Museum decided to put their modern gadgets aside to see what it was like to communicate back in the old days.
It was an early weekend morning and Lance Pearce was teaching a class, but this one did not have your usual quizzes or tests.
Instead, the students learned 5,000 years of history and art all within two hours.
"There's so much technology in a classroom now that they don't use the pen and pencil in the paperwork anymore. A lot of us going into technology, a lot of the schools use computers, most of the children are carrying iPhones," says Pearce, who has been a handwriting advocate for many years.
Pearce decided to take a different route in approaching his class. Instead of using computers, pens or pencils to teach, he used old-fashioned stationary.
His students learned all forms of writing using quills, bamboos, and calligraphy pens. This allowed kids to see how people used to communicate back in the days.
"Quills, over the years, John Adams, one of our presidents way back when, it took six weeks to get communication between the United States and Europe. Today, it takes a couple of seconds so technology changes so much from that standpoint," adds Pearce.
Kids asked questions, participated in discussions and one even already had some calligraphy experience.
"My mother has a calligraphy set from making scrapbooks and there's also some calligraphy pens in it and I think the writing is fun," says Nathalie Schelin, a student participating in the workshop.
Pearce's interest in art has followed him for many years and he has witnessed the impact that technology has had on society.
"History builds upon why we are here today and this is the situation we're in and this is how technology has helped us and hindered us," adds Pearce.
At the end of the workshop, kids put their handwriting skills to the test to write and mail a holiday card to their loved ones.
It was an early weekend morning and Lance Pearce was teaching a class, but this one did not have your usual quizzes or tests.
Instead, the students learned 5,000 years of history and art all within two hours.
"There's so much technology in a classroom now that they don't use the pen and pencil in the paperwork anymore. A lot of us going into technology, a lot of the schools use computers, most of the children are carrying iPhones," says Pearce, who has been a handwriting advocate for many years.
Pearce decided to take a different route in approaching his class. Instead of using computers, pens or pencils to teach, he used old-fashioned stationary.
His students learned all forms of writing using quills, bamboos, and calligraphy pens. This allowed kids to see how people used to communicate back in the days.
"Quills, over the years, John Adams, one of our presidents way back when, it took six weeks to get communication between the United States and Europe. Today, it takes a couple of seconds so technology changes so much from that standpoint," adds Pearce.
Kids asked questions, participated in discussions and one even already had some calligraphy experience.
"My mother has a calligraphy set from making scrapbooks and there's also some calligraphy pens in it and I think the writing is fun," says Nathalie Schelin, a student participating in the workshop.
Pearce's interest in art has followed him for many years and he has witnessed the impact that technology has had on society.
"History builds upon why we are here today and this is the situation we're in and this is how technology has helped us and hindered us," adds Pearce.
At the end of the workshop, kids put their handwriting skills to the test to write and mail a holiday card to their loved ones.
