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Typing….ds10 still not getting it
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Ds10 has been typing for almost 2 years. He still isn’t progressing. We started with Mavis Beacon. He did pretty well, except he never really progressed past 12-13wpm. A couple of months ago, I switched him to Typing Instructor Platinum, and he’s not doing much better. He has to repeat lessons 3-4 times before he reaches the minimum 15wpm to move on to the next lesson.
He also types his dictation, and as I watch him typing it, he’s constantly mixing up keys. He consistently mixes up the keys that he types with the same finger but on different hands (ie. g & h, e & i, q & p).
When I talked about this in the past, many of you suggested that he type everyday, so that’s what I’ve been doing. He does Typing Instructor on Mondays and Wednesdays and types his dictation on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He really isn’t making any improvements at all, not even small ones.
He is excelling in all other subjects, does great written narrations, is at a high reading level, etc., so this seems to be the one thing that is most difficult for him.
Any ideas, advice, or help would be much appreciated!
Blessings,
Lindsey
Lindsey, I wouldn’t worry about it. We learned to type in high school. There’s no need to push it at 10, in my opinion. Christie
I somewhat agree with you, Christie. But then I wonder: why does the curriculum guide suggest typing at 9 and 10? Perhaps it would be better to stop on it for a year or two and come back to it later?
Ok, I’ll still have him type his dictations. It’s not that he hates typing. He actually enjoys it and begs to do it. It’s just that he never gets any better at it. If it was a source of strife for us, I would have scrapped it a long time ago; but it’s not. That’s one less thing for me to worry about!
Hi Lindsey,
I think I would only stop typing and come back to it at a later year if it were causing great frustration or distress for him. Then I would think that he is just not ready for it yet. Otherwise, I would just keep it going, but not stress about progress and try to keep it as fun as possible. That’s just what I would do.
It sounds like he is a pretty excellent student and so, he may benefit (in character) by having something that he just keeps on plugging through until one day, BING! the light comes on and he just starts flying! However, like I said, if he is just NOT ready for it (maybe fine motor, or brain-to-hand connection) and it is causing frustration and stress, I would stop and try again when he is a bit older.
blessings!
Miranda
Well, Ha! I didn’t send my post right away to go help ds, then by the time I sent it, you already decided and had a plan! : ). Such a slow poke sometimes!
Miranda, no worries! I haven’t exactly made up my mind about what to do, but I like it when someone I trust gives me “permission” to take something out of our program without worrying about it. You’d think I wouldn’t need permission by now! Ha! I think you make a great point regarding it being good for his character to have to do something that doesn’t naturally come easy to him. I hadn’t thought about that. He already hates dictation, but he understands that he has to do it anyway. Oddly, he’s really good at it! I’m going to keep thinking on it. I’ve had good success in the past with delaying certain things and then watching my children flourish once I introduced them at a later stage (tying their shoes, potty-training to name a couple). I’m going to continue to think on it; and I appreciate the perspective!
Let me tell you something….I learned to type in high school, following in the footsteps of my older sisters who could both type 50-60 wpm. I barely made it to 30 wpm….ever! I was headed for a music major in college, and my high school choir director once saw the “D+” in typing on my report card & commented, “How can someone who can play the piano type so poorly?” (It was a humbling experience….I never received anything below an A in any other subject!)
Later in life, I was employed to train pharmacists to use a new computer system for labeling Rx bottles and billing insurance companies. These guys had 5-year degrees in their field, but most of them typed using the “hunt-and-peck” method. And most of them could type faster than I could!
The moral of this story? Just let him type happily along for his dictations, and you can revisit Mavis or some other program in a year or two.
I wouldn’t worry about. It will come with time. I’ll share what worked here in case it might help some. I have no idea how many wpm my kids type, but they’re quick. I had bought Mavis Beacon and Typing Instructor Deluxe at sales but never used them. It was just simpler for us to log onto BBC’s free Dance Mat typing. They learned the keyboard from that, and then increased speed by other computer activities. Does your son have a friend or relative he could e-mail? I think that’s what helped my dd increase her speed. Just a thought. I wouldn’t fret over it. The more he types over time the quicker he’ll get:) Gina
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