The written word!  How did this develop over many centuries?  It takes a complicated thought process between the hand and the brain to put words on paper. Words that are understandable by the reader.

Do you remember when you learned the ABC’s and later put them into word form?  A form called a sentence. These sentences had to make sense. Not only make sense, but it had to be readable and our handwriting legible.

The school I attended brought a writing teacher to our second-grade room to help us learn to write legibly. We had a large chart on the wall with ABC’s correctly written in long hand along-side the printed letters. “Practice Makes Perfect” we all hope our writing is legible and understandable as we learn.

If we go way back in time, to B.C., when records indicated mankind developed a system of writing. Up to that time stories and ideas were passed on orally. A more permanent system was needed, especially by kings who posted a record of their laws. The material used was stone, probably a softer stone like limestone.

The next material used for the written word was clay. The words were formed by the use of a stick cut into a triangle shape at the end. The tool was used to make wedge shaped marks in clay. This form of writing was called Cuneiform.

Another material used was a waxed covered flat piece of wood. A stick was used to imprint letters. Gold or silver plaques were another material used for writing. Probably used for special messages issued to a king or a warrior. Ostraca or Potshards were readily available for picture writing.

A long list of material was used but all had one thing in common, they were bulky and difficult to store.  For example, clay tablets are an example of this.

It is no wonder the ancient people relied more and more on the Papyrus. The Egyptians harvested this reed plant along the Nile River used as paper. Animal skins were tanned and used for writing material. These were accumulated and made into Codx forming pages. Thus, the beginning of books.

A number of years ago, upon the introduction of the computer in schools, learning to use the typewriter keyboard was necessary. Most typewriting classes were offered the Sophomore year in school. This class was then moved to the elementary schools so students could learn to use the computer.

No longer were students learning long hand writing or reading. When grandma sent a Happy Birthday wish to her grandson, she included a long hand message of love. This message was lost in the grandson’s lack of understanding of reading long hand writing, which was no longer being used by the students.