I learned to type in 7th grade
At Ryan Junior High School (216), a rather forbidding and humorless woman named Mrs. Bachman (our teachers did not have first names back then) taught us to type on manual typewriters. She clapped her hands loudly and shouted "a;sldkfjgh" as our sweaty little fingers flew across the keyboards, filling the room with a cacophony of clickety-clacks. I learned to type 90wpm (but alas, never learned to masterfully type numbers because someone broke into the typing room one weekend -- perhaps as revenge against the formidable Mrs. B -- and broke all the typewriters. We had study time for the rest of the semester).
I still type in the range of 90wpm, which proved to be a useful skill when I was interviewing for my first pathetic editorial assistant job out of college (which paid a whopping $130 a week). When I rose in the ranks to the CMO level I was able to churn out PowerPoints at record speeds. And now, as an entrepreneur and blogger, I am able to get concepts from my head to a screen in no time flat. Of course, I have also had to learn to use my thumbs -- so I can operate my Blackberry as rapidly as my notebook. And I'm just tackling the touch screen thing, teaching my middle-aged fingers to scroll and drag. (The touch screen thing freaks me out, since I was always told by my mother NOT to get fingerprints on surfaces.)
So, Mrs. B is probably long gone. She was nowhere near as inspirational as some of my other beloved elementary school and high school teachers. In fact, she scared the crap out of me. But her militaristic approach to keyboarding has helped me in later life. And for that I must be grateful.
Where to buy a fabulous manual typewriter
Why the digital generation likes manual typewriters
A new cool local store that sells stationery and pens and has manual typewriters in the window. Mrs. B would be proud!
Comments