Touch-Typing

In line with yesterday’s blog entry, what moves us to do anything we do? To choose what we choose. What is the configuration that makes us to turn in one direction and not another?

Of course, there are skills as well as talent.

In Springfield, Massachusetts, at the time I went to high school, there were four high schools. Classical High was academic. Commerce High was business. There was Technical High School, and finally Trade High School. Their names describe them. I chose to go to Classical High School.

I chose it. I am so glad I did, but what motivated me? My mother was opposed. She thought girls should be secretaries or nurses, and that was it. To her mind, girls should go to Commerce High School. But I went to Classical.

I cannot even imagine how different my life would be if I had gone to Commerce and studied Gregg shorthand.

Although all the schools by state law offered all the basic subjects like English and math etc., the only place that offered typing was Commerce High School.

What motivated me while I was a junior in high school to go to night school at Commerce to learn touch-typing? No one told me to. It was my idea. I do not remember what gave me the strong desire to do it. Probably I just wanted to be able to turn in typed papers rather than hand-written. This was before computers, of course.

Then in college, I also took a semester of typing, and got good at it. As I remember, I could type 80 words per minute. Less now, I imagine, and less accurately. Now I have to look to make sure where the numbers are.

I am very glad I can type, and I have typed plenty. How many thousands of hours have I saved because I took typing at night school at Commerce High!

And I am still amazed that I went to the trouble of learning how to type. I wonder if learning to type is an oddity now.

Another time I’ll tell you how, a few years later, I came to study the stenograph machine that court reporters use.

Posted by Gloria on November 25th, 2008 under these topics
Education, Godwriting Journal

Add your comment

Top

Post Discussion

10 Replies

Reply from Jochen on November 25, 2008

Still typing with two fingers after 140 book translations. You have to think most of the time, so it doesn’t matter that much there. I have attempted to learn touch-typing. I thought it might be more effective if I didn’t have to watch my fingers. I found I hated learning it and so didn’t. I guess that after 33 years I still think my job is only a stopgap until I find my true calling. That’s a joke I can laugh about again and again. And harder each time.

Reply from Gloria on November 25, 2008

Beloved Jochen, obviously, you don’t need touch typing! I know I couldn’t possibly go through learning it now!

On the other hand, you know so many languages and so well and you study them because of some inner impulse, yes?

Translator sounds like it’s right up your alley. However, you are not feeling this way!

I think your own writing is amazing. How your words flow. How you express exquisite understanding.

Let us just play a game, okay? If you were going to be a writer, what do you imagine you would like to write?
What sort of book? Is there an author you especially admire and would like to write like?

Loving you, Gloria

Reply from Jochen on November 26, 2008

If I were going to be a writer?

Music is my favorite medium, but not one I am able to express myself in. My writing would be “musical”, you might call it poetic but without being poetry in the strict sense of the word, not in verse. I don’t like stories, I don’t like analyses and explanations, I don’t like teaching and enlightening stuff. “Impressionistic” might be the word. Vignettes. I just looked up “vignette” in my digital dictionary, and one of its definitions, most wonderfully fitting, is this: “a small illustration or portrait photograph that fades into its background without a definite border”.

Yes, I know a few (German/Austrian) authors who wrote that way. Better to say: who managed to write that way even so in their day you had to “say something”. There may be others today. I don’t know. I don’t read. I’m not interested. I’m only interested in personal communication.

Languages. Oh yes, I’d love to learn many. But not from books and not in classes. Only in the countries themselves. I still dream of it.

Thanks for opening and offering a space here,
Jochen

Reply from Gloria on November 27, 2008

The writing you do on this blog and on the forum is exquisite beyond belief. It is so delicate and intelligent, and I imagine it just flows from you. It is simply your heart and mind on paper.

I wonder if you think writing is SOMETHING when it is simply you.

Reply from Pam (fortheloveofGodde) on November 27, 2008

How you explain your writing as “impressionistic” suits. Poetry does not have to rhyme, and writing poetically is a Godde-given talent, as is your facility at learning new languages.

I wholeheartedly agree with Gloria. I love reading your blog responses and forum entries.

Reply from Pam (fortheloveofGodde) on November 27, 2008

Meant to add that I took typing reluctantly in high school–it was a required class. Why, I don’t know and I never intended to have to need it. Then a few years after graduating, I went to business college. Way back then, typing tests were timed and two points were taken off for every error. If you timed 60 words per minute and made 5 errors, your score was 50 words per minute. My first test was -4. Minus 4 words per minute typing speed. One of my first jobs was a secretary at a local university. My penchant for typing errors exponentially increased with the need to be accurate, such as typing on those dreaded blue mimeograph things (before copy machines). They had this blue-glue type stuff that had to be painted on any errors. I’d rush mine in to the mimeograph machine before the supervisor saw how bad it was.

Reply from Gloria on November 27, 2008

Oh, Pam, this is so funny. How can someone say you type minus four!!! You would have gotten a better score if you hadn’t typed at all!

Reply from Jochen on November 27, 2008

I just love your little story, Pam. Penchant for typing errors exponentially increasing with need to be accurate — oh yes, I’m quite experienced there too. There is no way of predicting my score in a test, but you can be fairly sure it would be negative even today. But then, I have my driving licence since 1964. Where would I end up in a car race? See?

Reply from Gloria on November 27, 2008

Senor, are you saying you believe in such things as age and all the things about age that have been circulated?

Reply from Jochen on November 27, 2008

Not at all! Mentioning the age of my driving licence, I only intended to say that I consider myself a reasonably proficient typist/driver as long as speed is not the main or only criterion. Nothing to do with age. Give me several more decades and I will be as young as Jack is.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI