Typing Class Memories: A Look Back at Touch Typing

MOTAL is fortunate to have in its artifact collection a typewriter that was saved from being discarded from Orange High School in Orange, CA. The donor, Mr. Kendall Neisess was a teacher, and then the principal, of that school. In his donation letter written in 2006, he stated it was used in 1950s-60s. He bought it for $10. This typewriter has standard features, but the letters on the keys are obscured so that the writer must perform by touch, not by peeking at the letters. In his donation message, Mr. Neisess explained that the mechanical typewriters went by the wayside when electric typewriters came in.
 
An earlier MOTAL article shared many facts about typewriters, for MOTAL is fortunate to have other machines (with letters shown clearly on the keys!) in its collection.


Click on the link to the to view the earlier MOTAL article: A Precious Typewriter.
High school typing classes started to appear in the American curriculum in about 1915 after typewriters had been popular for business use for several decades. Classes were usually electives, and enrollment was mostly girls, for the prevailing attitude in those early twentieth-century decades was that typing was a feminine pursuit—a change after nineteenth-century thinking that secretaries should be men. Perhaps the era of societal change surrounding World War I had some influence: women who worked outside the home were destined to be the secretaries, clerks, and typists. Boys would become men who dictated what to type.


A typical class provided instruction and practice in “touch typing.” That meant that students learned to strike the keys accurately with designated fingers, using all ten at some point. Writing was done without stopping to look at the letters on the keys. Practice was done while sitting with proper posture, positioning both hands in correct alignment to gain accuracy and speed. Touch typing continued to be taught for business and personal reasons through the 1970s, 80s, and beyond until personal computers and keyboarding started to take over.


Men who did take Typing as boys often express in retrospect that they had signed up because a) they enjoyed being in classes with so many girls, or b) their parents made them enroll. Those who were college-bound could acquire a useful skill; they would have papers to write for years to come. Some fellows who did not take that class express regret. Hiring typists to prepare college course papers and theses was cumbersome and their own “hunt-and-peck” strategies were seldom fast enough to be efficient. Individuals who COULD type well were able to earn quite a bit of money, charging a dollar or more per page.


The Museum of Teaching and Learning decided to introduce readers to its Typing Class Typewriter with a short video that shares a funny monologue. It relates the tale of a brand new teacher who is teaching typing. The speaker/performer is a humorist and MOTAL friend named Iva Deobald. Please enjoy watching . . . and listening.

With the advent of computers, typewriters and typing classes faded, and “keyboarding” taught in elementary grades became the strategy. Learning to type was frequently done via lessons taught on the computer, not an in-person instructor. Touch typing was not always the outcome and according to some studies many individuals LOOK at the keys while typing and use combinations of fingers, but not all ten. They are able to type a manuscript in speeds that rival those of touch-typists.


As the years go by, typewriters have become objects of interest and fascination. They are popular for some collectors as they increase in value. When MOTAL has put one of its typewriters on display, visitors flock to look and carefully touch. Older individuals reminisce about their experiences, and young people are fascinated by the machinery, particularly the power needed to strike the keys and the action of the typebars (arms) that make impressions on the paper on the platen (roller) in the carriage.


Resources:
Ancient History - Keyboarding
Teaching Typing May Be a Waste of Time
Typing Education Has Evolved With Technological Ubiquity - The Atlantic


Submitted by Greta Nagel
MOTAL President and CEO