Don't brush off writing

THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (MOE) ISSUED a document last week requiring primary schools to have a calligraphy class once a week for students from third grade to sixth grade and calligraphy-related courses must be arranged for high school students.

The MOE stipulation is definitely more than necessary as an increasing number of Chinese students are losing the ability to write Chinese characters with a brush and even a pen in the proper manner.

Nowadays, with most students using computers to do their studies, very few students and parents pay enough attention to the writing of Chinese characters. Even for homework that is to be hand written, more and more students tend to scribble it as quickly as possible since they usually have more homework than they can finish in their spare time.