Return to letters at school

CHANDIGARH: Prominent schools in the city are trying to rescue the art of letter writing. Authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to the fact that basic sentence structure and grammar has been hit hard by instant messages and are trying to undo the damage. These days, school children are assigned to write letters to each other during vacations as part of their homework.The activity not only keeps them in touch with letters, but also helps them hone writing skills.
Daksh Bansal, a student of DPS school said, "I wait for replies of my friends. Once we receive the letter, we call back and tell them. This keeps us very excited," His mother, Arshia Bansal said, "In today's time, children are more inclined towards electronic gadgets, which limits their creativity. Writing letters to each other is a great way of interaction.
According to Reema Dewan, principal of Delhi Public School, Chandigarh, text messages have created a void in the field of the written word. "Writing has lost its significance. The new generation has diverted to texting and E-mailing, due to which they have lost interest in writing letters and greetings. So we came up with the idea of assigning interesting homework to them."
The effort has not been in vain, with children actually appreciating the adventure of writing letters with their personal touch. Pihu Malhotra, a student of Gurukul Junior School, Zirakpur, said, "I love art and craft so I am enjoying homework very much. I make greeting cards and draw my favorite cartoons on them to make it look special and attractive. I have sent letters to all my classmates through which I made many close friends." "I love this new homework. It is such a fun activity. Far better than the boring homework we used to get earlier. It is less of homework and more of fun," said Eva Handa, a student of Sacred Heart Convent School.
Besides the obvious downward trend in grammar, teachers also noticed that students are using short forms in the written language so much they are losing patience in life.