Since, then, you have been raised with
Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
—Colossians 3:1-2
“Feet flat…back straight…elbows by your side…fingers on the
home keys…body centered on the “J” key…eyes on copy,” I reminded as I milled
around the classroom monitoring my students’ keyboarding posture.
That was then—when the school of thought was that “proper”
posture would result in greater keyboarding speed and fewer errors. But this is
now—and things have changed. Most of my current students have been tapping on
electronic devices since they were toddlers. They have their own technique down
pat. Some are faster at typing out a
message with just two fingers than I am with two hands. To have them learn
touch-typing at this stage would only result in frustration for all parties. As
such, keyboarding class has become obsolete.
But when I did teach keyboarding, I covered my classroom
walls with “Cartoons on Keyboard Basics” (published by J. Weston Walch). These
cartoons featured Pretzel Patty, Peekin’ Pete, Side-Saddle Sig, Stop-and-Go-Sandy
and several other characters whose keyboarding posture was substandard.
