It's not that women aren't as good as men at the job. It's the trend that women are discouraged from even entering the field.
If you read the article, it mentions how we are not tapping into the 'other 50%' of the pool of talent. Which is what happens when you just assume women aren't as good at the job.
Last time I was tested, I was at around 105 wpm with 99% accuracy. That's just a byproduct of using computers day in and day out for years though, and not a result of any typing class. I gradually developed my own touch typing system, I guess.
For me, I started using a computer casually in the 3rd grade. In 6th grade, I had to take a required typing class, coming out with about 30wpm.
About that time I started getting into online games. Around the time of Quake 1, there was a game called Tanarus, created by Sony. It required a major amount of teamwork/communication, without taking your eyes from the screen. I attribute my rise from 30wpm to ~100wpm to that game.
It was the required class that taught me the fundamentals, but online activity that refined and enhanced my skills. It seems that for the new generation, the order may be reversed.
I believe that schools are phasing this out not because touch typing is not a necessary skill but because most of the students can already type better than the teachers.
The answer to this shouldn't be to get rid of the classes. Rather, the schools should offer a preliminary test and pass people who already know how to type.
It would be beneficial. Yes, many kids today are growing up on email and IM. But most are not going to have the discipline or desire to learn touch-typing on their own. They are 'content' with hunt-and-pecking their way through and using slang.
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It's not that women aren't as good as men at the job. It's the trend that women are discouraged from even entering the field.
If you read the article, it mentions how we are not tapping into the 'other 50%' of the pool of talent. Which is what happens when you just assume women aren't as good at the job.
About that time I started getting into online games. Around the time of Quake 1, there was a game called Tanarus, created by Sony. It required a major amount of teamwork/communication, without taking your eyes from the screen. I attribute my rise from 30wpm to ~100wpm to that game.
It was the required class that taught me the fundamentals, but online activity that refined and enhanced my skills. It seems that for the new generation, the order may be reversed.
It would be beneficial. Yes, many kids today are growing up on email and IM. But most are not going to have the discipline or desire to learn touch-typing on their own. They are 'content' with hunt-and-pecking their way through and using slang.
Imagine the privacy advocates jumping on that one.