Not Exactly Typing Class

"But do you teach typing?" I blink at the parent standing across from me. A difficult question.

You see, I was taught typing. I'm thankful for it everyday, but it bored me to tears. I test drive all our typing software personally, for at least a half hour before deployment. I don't put stuff out there that bores me or that I find hard to use. I want the kids to use it. I see where their parents are coming from. Typing is useful. However, my department gets such limited class time with our kids - even with our attempts at integration - that, sometimes, formal home-keys training gets pushed aside.

"We practice it in the lower grades," I say carefully "and we keep a list of free and low-cost typing programs that Annabelle can use from home, if you feel she needs extra practice."

Dennis, my former boss, was never taught typing. In fact, in my former department of eight, I was the only one who could touch type. And it's that that I think about when I talk about typing. Fellow IT and teaching professionals, who I thoroughly admire, and none of them could touch type. Is lacking that skill really that bad?

"Well, The Johns School teaches typing and has laptops for every child - what can you offer that they can't?" I look for help from Jane, the Admissions Director, who, I'm sure, did not plan this cornering. She raises her eyebrows waiting for my response. I look back at the parents. "Ma'am, while we don't offer a laptop for every child, we do offer an 8:1 student-teacher ratio, and open labs for all students. As far as typing goes, our graduated students consistently report feeling better prepared with computers skills than their peers when they enter college. I'd like to think we have an excellent program that focuses on a diverse set of critical thinking and creative skills. Not just typing."

It's a load, partially. This woman has been visiting schools all month. A mouthful of computer curricula jibberish can't really match up to a "free" laptop for her child. You can hold a laptop.

Jane begins a shpeil about our new gymnasium and they start down the hallway. What's difficult about this scenario is that these students will be entering a world that we don't know how to prepare them for. All Thomas Friedman aside, the best these parents can ask is that we are actively aware of that fact. The "free" laptop is just icing.