Gregg Shorthand: Not a Dead Skill

As late as the 1980s, Gregg or Pitman shorthand was taught throughout the United States in both high schools and colleges. In the 1990s, the advent of the computer led many schools to stop offering shorthand to students feeling no one would utilize the skill. Sadly, this has left many people out in the cold when it comes to job promotions. Companies throughout the United States, including the USPS, have positions that require a working knowledge of shorthand with writing speeds of 80 words per minute. If corporations are still demanding it, why are schools no longer teaching it?

There seem to be two choices in today's world. Those needing to learn shorthand can take on-line courses, tricky but possible, or try to master the skill by purchasing text books. Here's the deal with the on-line learning format--you must be dedicated. Instead of having a teacher looking over your shoulder, you are responsible for completing assignments, practicing every day, scanning your writing to send to your on-line teacher, asking questions as necessary, and having a computer player capable of playing the sound files used for dictation. Skipping one day of classes is easy to do, and this can cost you valuable study time in the long run because once you've skipped, it is easy to fall into a regular pattern of overlooking practice.

Shorthand is a writing system that breaks down words into phonetics and then uses simple strokes to represent these sounds. Words like "photograph" are then written with strokes for F-O-T-O and the arched symbol meaning "graph". In addition to the numerous shorthand strokes, there are also "brief forms" that are used to speed up writing. Brief forms cover words that are used repeatedly in the English language like the, street, before, after, and gentlemen. Combining the shortened strokes with the brief forms helps people write at speeds of up to 150 words per minute. All that is needed is a pen and paper making it a useful skill for business meetings without having to deal with computer glitches and power outages. This is why many companies still prefer to have skilled workers who can take notes quickly and then transcribe them later.

While shorthand classes are not taught in the majority of schools nowadays, there are a few night classes that do offer it for those who are lucky enough to still have skilled teachers. Universal Class offers an on-line shorthand class, I know because I have been teaching it for four years. To my class's credit, one woman practiced an hour a day and then went on to pass a state regulated shorthand test for a job with her local government. Others have tried and failed because they couldn't get used to a structured schedule where they had to spend at least 30 minutes every evening to practice, even on weekends. Those that have succeeded say that it has been a struggle at times because the writing seems so foreign, but everyone who sticks with the class has fun learning it.

Is shorthand truly dead? I don't think so. I've had countless requests from people all over the world to transcribe their deceased ancestor's diaries and personal notes written in shorthand. I've seen these diaries turn into many things including confessions of affairs to simple notes taken during shorthand class.

If you want to learn shorthand, I highly suggest purchasing a book and taking time out every day to study. Memorization of all of the strokes is the key to success!