Is the age of exercise books coming to a close?
SIR – Kathy Crewe-Read, headmistress of Wolverhampton Grammar School, argues that “exercise books are no match for the iPad” (report, January 12) and says schools should go paperless.
She adds: “We are trying to prepare our students for a distant future where ultimately writing and reading might be a thing of the past.” But how is information transferred from the iPad to the brain without first being read? Doreen Whittaker
Ilford, Essex
SIR – I am disturbed by the idea that, since writing and reading may be irrelevant in the future, it is necessary to prepare students by depriving them of pen and paper.
As an English teacher, I have found that most students profess to have visual memories, but this does not mean they memorise things on a screen more effectively. Reading printed matter requires skilful navigation of a space: the position of the information on the page contributes to memory. Meanwhile, writing – making your own mark – is one of the basic creative actions that defines us as humans.
Does Ms Crewe-Read realise what the loss of these skills could mean for brain development in the young? Writing improves fine motor skills; pushing buttons does not. Children’s five senses are fully alive at primary and secondary age, but touch and smell – part of reading and writing – are not engaged by screens.
Will students protest at having to use iPads? Of course not. Any nascent love of pen and paper is easily extinguished by presenting a child with a screen. And when these children return home, their parents will be unable to persuade them of the wonder of books.
Incidentally, I wrote this letter on a computer: enjoying writing on paper has not prevented me from embracing technology. Elena Sapsford
Barkway, Hertfordshire