One day when my fingers were flying over an IBM Selectric typewriter, my daughter DiDi asked, “Mommy, how can you type so fast?” I asked her then if she would like to learn how to type and she quickly said, “Yes!” I then made a drawing of the keyboard, colored each row of keys, blanked out the typewriter keys with adhesive tape, colored her fingernails with the same colors as the chart and proceeded to teach her. Within a short period of time she was able to type by following the letters and colors on the chart, using the proper fingers. That was 50 years ago.

About a year ago, I was invited to speak to a group of 1st and 2nd grade students, an opportunity to read them stories and offer important advice, such as proper behavior on the school bus. I noticed two computers sitting in the corner of the classroom, and asked the teacher if she would like me to show her a very easy way to teach her students how to “touch-type” (typing without looking at the keys). The teacher replied that she wasn’t allowed to try my approach, because the school administration insisted that teachers offer a different approach – teaching the children that their left hand was “red” and the right hand was “purple.” Well, I thought to myself, that might possibly teach students the difference between the two colors, but I could not imagine how this approach would ever teach them to type.

Tina Perry