Many who write letters today are aware of the troubles their local postal services are facing. As fewer people write and mail letters, and as fewer bills, advertisements and other information are sent by mail, the post offices are struggling — and often failing — to stay relevant and solvent.
Here in the U.S., some proposed solutions include reducing mail delivery from six days a week to five or fewer, doing away with house-by-house delivery and replacing the personal mailboxes with large, neighborhood boxes.
Despite our 21st century access to worldwide news 24-hours a day, we often don't see the news that similar issues are going on all over the globe. The Sydney Morning Herald recently printed an article about how "Snail Mail is crawling to a standstill" in Australia.
Aside from all of the statistics and data listed in the article, one of the most interesting things was the part about the Australia Post's Education website section. The page aimed at students offers tips for letter writing; some history of the alphabet, paper, pens and more; an interactive letter writing tool; and much more.
It would be nice if the U.S. Postal Service offered some educational information like that on its website, some proactive marketing. What a fun job that would be...helping to save the postal service by teaching the younger generation the joys of letter writing!
Here in the U.S., some proposed solutions include reducing mail delivery from six days a week to five or fewer, doing away with house-by-house delivery and replacing the personal mailboxes with large, neighborhood boxes.
Despite our 21st century access to worldwide news 24-hours a day, we often don't see the news that similar issues are going on all over the globe. The Sydney Morning Herald recently printed an article about how "Snail Mail is crawling to a standstill" in Australia.Aside from all of the statistics and data listed in the article, one of the most interesting things was the part about the Australia Post's Education website section. The page aimed at students offers tips for letter writing; some history of the alphabet, paper, pens and more; an interactive letter writing tool; and much more.
It would be nice if the U.S. Postal Service offered some educational information like that on its website, some proactive marketing. What a fun job that would be...helping to save the postal service by teaching the younger generation the joys of letter writing!
Here in my state, the public schools have done away completely with teaching children cursive writing. It really struck me hard one day when I was in the children's book section at Barnes and Noble and overheard a conversation between a little girl and her mother. The mother was trying to get her child to write cursive at one of the tables, and the girl was very upset because she said she would get into a lot of trouble with the teacher if she wrote cursive. Apparently, not only is it discouraged for children to write cursive in the schools, but the children are under the impression that they will be punished for it. We definitely need places where children can learn the art of letters and letter-writing, now more than ever, before it becomes lost to society's obsession with impersonal gadgets.
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