S/O: Regarding your typing education...

[RegGuheert]

A couple of the responses in the Well-Trained Fingers thread made me think of the gender bias that existed in typing training in the 70s and 80s:

My hubby was in HR and is now in programming, he consistantly scores higher than 100. My MIL used to be a secretary and she can type in the 150 range while talking on the phone. :001_huh: She multi-tasks very well. I have never heard of anyone that can type much faster than that.

I took typing in school so I was "taught right" but I just don't have fast fingers.

While it is not odd that Tap, tap, tap would have taken typing training, it is somewhat odd that KidsHappen's DH would have. I, too, took typing in high school, but I believe I was the only boy in the class. :001_smile: In those days the thinking was that typing education was mainly for those who would likely be employed in secretarial positions in their careers.

 

Over a decade ago I worked in a small, all-male group as a programmer. I was the ONLY touch-typist in that group. All of the other programmers were accomplished two-finger typists.

 

Of course that has all changed today given the ubiquitous nature of the internet. I think most people now feel a need to learn to touch-type, regardless of their gender.

 

So please tell us your gender and whether you took touch typing when you were in high school.

[Mom22ns]

When I was in Jr. High all the kids took a quarter of typing in 7th grade and a semester of typing in 8th. While I was always one of the fastest, there was always a guy faster than me. My dh types around 100 wpm, while I type under 70. Ds types about 60 wmp at 13.

 

I know not many guys took typing in high school (I didn't either), but at least everyone was exposed in our district.

[meet me in paris]

That's interesting.

 

I remember taking typing in high school, but it was actually in a class called "Business ___" (I can't remember what the ___ was). So, we spent a good amount of time on typing, but also did business plans, wrote letters and proposals, etc. I think there were as many boys as girls in the class. That was in '85 or '86.

[min]

I didn't learn at high school, but I did go to a commercial college after that. Touch typing remains the single most useful thing I learned in any of my education after about grade 6!

 

Min

[Sherry in OH]

10th grade, required of all students. We used manual typewriters.

[MamaT]

I took typing in high school (way back in 1979!), and there was only one boy in the class.

[JudoMom]

I took typing in high school, and I know my brother did as well. I don't remember if it was school required or mother required, but I do remember it wasn't optional for either of us.

[Renee in NC]

I didn't, but my brother did. He types much faster than I do.

 

I have never taken typing as a class (and my pitiful 55wpm shows it!)

[IsabelC]

My husband did typing at high; it was compulsory for one year.

My school (all girls school) had it but as an elective which I didn't choose. I taught myself in my spare time at work when I was about 22.

Now I am a pretty good typer an dh is still a pretty lousy one.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Hotdrink

[Carrie12345]

I was in high school in the 90's. It was "keyboarding". :tongue_smilie:

 

It was a 1/2 credit class that pretty much everyone took.

[RegGuheert]

 

We used manual typewriters.

At least we had IBM Selectric typewriters! ;) Ours were all blue!

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think some of us are younger so that taking typing in school, especially if we were an advanced student, just didn't happen. I graduated in 1993.

 

I took a 2 week "elective" in 5th grade for typing because my mom told me to. That is the extent of my typing class time. I'm SO glad I didn't take it in high school. There was nowhere's near enough time for four years of math, science, orchestra, and dance as it was. I can't imagine wasting time on a typing class. I did take a business co-op class though, but it was expected that you could type at least 35wpm to be in it. And we had a computer at home. I even had an early home-version of the internet at home in 8th and 9th grades.

 

Most of my typing has come from being highly addicted to parenting, homeschooling, and other such message boards since 1995. I type decently and correctly (most tests come out to be about 80wpm; some tests have extra symbols and nonsense words that bring it down a bit; but still higher than just about any job would ask for).

 

My kids have been on the computer since they were toddlers. They were so not interested in a typing program. Both type a decent speed, but not correctly. They can type without looking for the most part though.

 

Of course, I have a friend who types with 4 fingers (two on each hand). She easily types 70wpm like that. It's odd!

 

ETA: I have subbed in some computer classes. VERY few of the kids (and this was last Spring) could type 40+wpm. The majority of them considered it unreachable, struggling to get to 25. I really think that growing up on computers and texting has handicapped them in terms of typing speed.

Edited September 10, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[Mama Geek]

I put other because I took a computer class that taught typing, but there was more to it than that.

[Laura Corin]

My high school didn't teach typing. It was an all-girls school. Typing was for typists, and the school thought we were destined for higher things.

 

I taught myself to type from a book one summer.

 

Laura

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I was in high school in the 90's. It was "keyboarding". :tongue_smilie:

 

It was a 1/2 credit class that pretty much everyone took.

 

I was in high school in the 2000's..it was keyboarding then also.

 

I took it. It was a full credit course, and wasn't required. It was one of a number of options for electives. It was quite possibly the most useless class I have ever taken. Then again, I was already typing about 100 wpm, and there were kids in the class who had almost no experience on computers!

[Chris in VA]

I took it in Jr High. It wasn't offered in high school. I was in 8th grade in 1977.

"Everyone" took it, boys and girls. It wasn't considered a secretarial or office "track" class, just a lifeskill.

[homeschoolally]

It was required at my high school for boys and girls.

[Luckymama]

Typing was required of all freshmen at my high school (town which pulled from extensive PA rural area)----this was in 1980. It was still required when my sister graduated in 1987.

 

I thought it was the silliest class of all------------until I made a TON of money during college typing papers :lol:

[bookfiend]

I almost didn't take typing in high school because I didn't want to be labeled a secretary. We had carriage return typewriters in class. I received an electric typewriter as a graduation gift and had one of the only typewriters on my hall in college. When hubby when to grad school, there was a computer lab/center where everyone when to use a computer. No one had their own!

 

It is this fact, that I learned how to use a computer while in my mid 20's, which convinces me my children won't be horribly disadvantaged because we don't give them screen time now!

[angela in ohio]

I took typing in the late 80s in high school, and it was an equal class of guys and girls. I think everyone took it as a requirement.

[snickelfritz]

I graduated high school in '94. Typing was part of the computer courses. If it wasn't required, nearly everyone still took it. Typing, spreadsheets, word processing, etc...

 

So, I voted the first option. But it wasn't strictly a typing course. Maybe I should have voted the last one.

Edited September 10, 2010 by snickelfritz

[Dobela]

That's interesting.

 

I remember taking typing in high school, but it was actually in a class called "Business ___" (I can't remember what the ___ was). So, we spent a good amount of time on typing, but also did business plans, wrote letters and proposals, etc. I think there were as many boys as girls in the class. That was in '85 or '86.

That was true at our school as well. Plain typing was offered as well but since it was a full year course, most of the guys signed up for the then very new "Keyboarding" class that was computer based and only lasted 1 semester. I graduated in '88.

 

I didn't take typing though. Or keyboarding. I wasn't planning on being in a career that used it and didn't have the foresight to see that computers would be such a huge part of our lives. Instead I filled up on other academic classes to boost my GPA and impress colleges.

[GoVanGogh]

DH and I attended the same school district. He graduated in '82 and I graduated in '86.

Typing was required for all students.

 

DH is a software engineer. He can type around 150 words per minute. It is truly amazing to watch him type.

[Tabrett]

Typing was recommended if you were planning on attending college when I was in highschool in the 80's. All my guy friends took typing. My dh, in a different state, also took typing in highschool. Intro to technolgy, aka typing, is a required class for graduation in the state I live.

[Dana]

Other :)

 

I took typing in middle school (had manual typewriters at first, then we got electrics after a couple of weeks). We were lucky though and had lift-tape for making corrections.

 

I did two semesters (7th and 8th grades). Our classes were very mixed by race and by gender. This was in the South in the mid-80s.

 

My husband took typing in California. I don't know if it was in middle school or high school, but I'm sure he wasn't on manuals :)

[MeaganS]

My dad (45 years old) took typing in school, but he did it because it was almost an all-girls class and he was savvy :lol:. He's mentioned on a few occasions that he never thought it would actually turn out to have been useful, but he's glad it did.

 

I'm only 24, so I don't even remember learning to type. I know we had computers in my 2nd grade classroom, and I was doing assignments by 5th grade on the computer. I do remember taking typing because it was required in high school, but already knowing how and really feeling like I was wasting my time. I finished the typing book after 2 weeks and spent the rest of the semester chatting with my friends on the computer.

[nukeswife]

I was in high school in the 90's. It was "keyboarding". :tongue_smilie:

 

It was a 1/2 credit class that pretty much everyone took.

 

:iagree: This is how it worked for me and my dh.

He's now an Executive Officer in the Navy and says that it's the thing he learned in High School that he uses the most.

[Farrar]

It was offered, but I never took it - too many other fun classes. We got our first computer when I was in middle school and my mother told me, go learn how to type and bought me an early version of the program Typing Tutor. I did the first lessons then played the letter bombs falling game and learned that way. By the end of 8th grade, I could type about as well as I can now - and I do touch type.

[Paintedlady]

I voted that I took a typing class in high school, and I remember it was a class of all females, however, my dh also took typing in high school and said it was very common for the males to do so. He's from TX and I'm from IL, so maybe it's a regional/state difference?

[Sasharowan]

I took touch typing in high school but didn't get very fast at it. It wasn't until I started doing forums and chats that I got better and faster at it. We had several boys in our class, but we were in the time when computers were becoming more common. We had keyboarding in college, lots of guys there.

[Daisy]

I was in high school in the 80's but it was a private school. ALL students, regardless of gender, were required to take a class in typing. Shorthand was optional (gasp).

[Kathleen in VA]

My high school didn't teach typing. It was an all-girls school. Typing was for typists, and the school thought we were destined for higher things.

 

I taught myself to type from a book one summer.

 

Laura

 

I was such a snob in high school. My mom was a clerk-typist for the government (USGS) and I was determined that I would never, ever, ever take a typing class and would never, ever, ever become a clerk-typist or secretary. That was for a completely different "class" of individual. I couldn't have been more stupid or wrong. Mom insisted, so I took the class.

 

BTW, that was in 1975 and I think there were a fair number of young men in my class. I remember because several of the longer typing exercises near the end of the semester were absolutely NOT geared toward boys (fine china, application letter to attend an exclusive women's college, etc.) and there was a lot of hootin' and hollerin' from the male section of the class about that.:D

 

:iagree: This is how it worked for me and my dh.

He's now an Executive Officer in the Navy and says that it's the thing he learned in High School that he uses the most.

 

I can't express how thankful I am that my mom insisted I take typing. I was able to work for a real estate office, the USDA, a DOD contractor, and two different pastors because I was a proficient typist. That USDA job put me through college!!

 

ETA: Learning the alphabet and typing are the two most helpful things I got out of my entire public school education.

[Annie]

I graduated from HS in 2003. Everyone in the district learned typing in 5th grade. There was a short refresher course in 6th or 7th.

[Dawn in OH]

I took typing in high school. Not by choice. It was mandatory for graduation. Everyone took it in 9th grade.

 

At the time, I hated it and resented being forced to take it. I had no plans of being a secretary or a typist, and even computer usage was really minimal at the time. I didn't think there would ever be a use for it.

 

I later ended up working as an Administrative Assistant (that's a secretary with a fancy name) and Executive Assistant (that's a fancy name for a secretary to a more important person) for 10 years.

[chiguirre]

I took Business Typing in 10th grade. About 40% of the class was guys, and most of them were my fellow AP students. I think most male students took typing, although a lot of them opted for Personal Typing which was a bit more low key.

 

ETA: This was the mid-80s and we used IBM Selectrics.

[Mabeline]

I was in high school in the 90's. It was "keyboarding". :tongue_smilie:

 

It was a 1/2 credit class that pretty much everyone took.

 

 

Same here. It was a semester class required for all freshmen. It was funny, we started out with old typewriters that you had to punch the keys down to make them work and about half way through the class they bought us ectectric keyboards. They were soo cool and my fingers didn't get as sore.:lol:

[dangermom]

I took typing my freshman year (my dad, a computer guy, insisted that I take it), and the class was half and half. By far the best typer was a guy who was into computers. This was in 1987.