Penmanship

[Jean_1958]

I’ve started teaching for a homeschool co-op. The jr high students turned in their first round of homework and - OMG! Their handwriting is horrendous! What happened to Catholic school penmanship???

My daughter is an educator and is a self-employed tutor. She says that many kids now-a-days have bad handwriting. She also added that many kids just don’t care and trying to get them to write let alone write legibly is like trying to pull teeth.

There was an article not long ago about how many districts and schools are dropping penmanship from the curriculum. Many teachers spend so much time “teaching to the test” that trying to find time to spend on penmanship is hard to do. Not impossible, just hard to do.

I think it is sad that penmanship has gone down the tubes the way it has and that many districts and schools want to cut it from the curriculum.

Jean

 

[Sabda]

In my 5th grade, we have handwriting for 30 minutes twice a week. Plus, ANYTHING that has written answers, except for math, MUST be written in cursive.

For spelling tests, open “a”, “o”, “g” etc get marked wrong. "e"s that are too high are marked wrong; "l"s that are too low are marked wrong. We are sticklers about neat handwriting. If it is too messy, they must stay in from recess and re-write it.

They learn to write letters, essays, paragraphs, fully explained answers, etc. all in cursive handwriting.

They also learn keyboarding in their computer class that they have twice a week.

So…for all essays (they write about 1 essay a month), their final rough draft must be turned in as cursive, and then their final copy must be typewritten on the computer.

Our public school still teaches the children to write in cursive. DD is in 4th grade and they have sheets of paper where they do nothing put practice writing their letters in cursive. Certain papers are to be written in cursive. They start learning cursive handwriting towards the end of 2nd grade. My son is in 1st grade and starting in kindergarten, they spend a lot of time learning how to write neatly printed letters.

There are some schools that are still teaching good penmanship.

 

[LilyM]

My parents’ handwriting is and always has been atrocious (they’re both doctors, which explains a lot). But I’ve come across people from many other walks of life with equally bad handwriting.

I’ve certainly never had problems reading any writing just because it isn’t prettily penned. If it’s tiny or the lines are cramped together that’s a different matter, of course.

I agree cursive writing absolutely has to be taught - for the fact that it’s faster than printing if nothing else. But then doctors and such have bad handwriting BECAUSE pretty penmanship is ALSO slower. For the same reason everyone’s handwriting is much worse when writing under pressure - say, taking lecture or meeting notes or exam essays.

I think emphasis on correct grammar and punctuation is far more important than penmanship.

 

[Sarabande]

I think emphasis on correct grammar and punctuation is far more important than penmanship.

Ain’t that da truth?!?!?

As a side job in college, I used to edit students’ reports, papers, etc. The Journalism and English majors did this often for extra money. Many of the students who paid me to do this were engineering majors. Although they were fairly brilliant when it came to anything that dealt with engineering, their writing skills were atrocious. One of them once told me that he and his classmates sounded like ignoramuses on paper. We laughed about it because they certainly were not ignoramuses, but it was true in regards to their writing. For some, it was so bad that it affected their grades. They couldn’t effectively get their point across within their papers and written exams. Helping my fellow classmates out made me realize why many people don’t like written essay exams. I discovered that there are a lot of people who might know the “answer”, but do not know the “why” or at least do not know how to explain the “why” effectively. It requires much more critical thinking as well as decent grammar. Unfortunately, it’s human nature to take the easiest way out. In some regard, I can see this adverse attitude towards handwriting/penmanship as another indication of going for the easiest way. As you say, it doesn’t necessarily need to be beautiful and extravagant, but it certainly still needs to be taught and learned.

 

[chevalier]

Why exactly is “penmanship” needed in this day and age?

Let’s list the reasons. No emotions or reminiscing. Just the facts. Why is this skill still needed?

You never know what gets you a date.

 

[stringbeanduck]

I wouldn’t exactly judge these guys. Some of us naturally just can’t write very nice. Thats why I do all my English writing assignments on the computer.

 

[Rolltide]

Here’s a major article that just came out today on the subject:

Cursive writing may be fading skill, but so what?
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_re_us/us_cursive_angst

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader’s signature.

“I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece of paper with her signature on it and it looks like a little kid’s signature,” Davis said.

Her daughter was apologetic, but explained that she hadn’t been required to make the graceful loops and joined letters of cursive writing in years. That prompted a call to the school and another surprise.

West Virginia’s largest school system teaches cursive, but only in the 3rd grade.

“It doesn’t get quite the emphasis it did years ago, primarily because of all the technology skills we now teach,” said Jane Roberts, assistant superintendent for elementary education in Kanawha County schools.

Davis’ experience gets repeated every time parents, who recall their own hours of laborious cursive practice, learn that what used to be called “penmanship” is being shunted aside at schools across the country in favor of 21st century skills.

The decline of cursive is happening as students are doing more and more work on computers, including writing. In 2011, the writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress will require 8th and 11th graders to compose on computers, with 4th graders following in 2019.

“We need to make sure they’ll be ready for what’s going to happen in 2020 or 2030,” said Katie Van Sluys, a professor at DePaul University and the president of the Whole Language Umbrella, a conference of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Handwriting is increasingly something people do only when they need to make a note to themselves rather than communicate with others, she said. Students accustomed to using computers to write at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of hours of practicing cursive handwriting.

“They’re writing, they’re composing with these tools at home, and to have school look so different from that set of experiences is not the best idea,” she said.

Text messaging, e-mail, and word processing have replaced handwriting outside the classroom, said Cheryl Jeffers, a professor at Marshall University’s College of Education and Human Services, and she worries they’ll replace it entirely before long…"

article continues…

 

[Catholic90]

“We need to make sure they’ll be ready for what’s going to happen in 2020 or 2030,” said Katie Van Sluys, a professor at DePaul University and the president of the Whole Language Umbrella, a conference of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Text messaging, e-mail, and word processing have replaced handwriting outside the classroom, said Cheryl Jeffers, a professor at Marshall University’s College of Education and Human Services, and she worries they’ll replace it entirely before long…"

article continues…

This is true…we do have to make sure the kids are prepared for the future, not just reminding them of past skills. I was required to take a typing class in high school. I was sooooo excited when at the end of the class, I could type 45 wpm! I was a junior in high school. Now, my kids have been typing that fast since 6th grade, because they have been taking keyboarding since early on. My oldest types in a very unconventional manner. He does not place his hands in the customary guide keys (f and j), but roams all over the keyboard. His accuracy is amazing. He attributes his accuracy and speed to texting and Facebooking. He sends about 2000 texts a month, and he is FAST. This has translated to his typing speed. (FWIW, when he texts, he spells everything out. He does not use the typical text lingo).

 

[Midwest88]

I was taught the Palmer Method in parochial school.

During my summer internship in 2010 all the interns had to sign their name on a sheet in case the IRB (Institutional Review Board) wanted to identify the papers that were being signed by us - we where signing off on permission slips and survey packets.

When a fellow intern saw my signature she commented on how it “looked like the handwriting of someone who wasn’t sure ‘what’ to write,” since my signature was the neatest and most eligible out of the entire group. I wasn’t sure how to respond and just shrugged my shoulders. In fact, I still don’t know how to respond since I found it to be such a bizarre comment. .The rest of the signatures were “celebrity style” where one can make out the first letter of the name followed by squiggly lines of what resembled camel humps. The same thing can be said about their surname. I never knew eligible meant unsure nowadays.

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

Handwriting is good for cognition and brain development.

I had heard about this before, but haven’t kept the studies. I’m sure there are better sources with more detailed information on the studies than these, but these two studies popped into my google search and at least give an idea of some of the benefits of handwriting:
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518.html

theweek.com/article/index/207846/how-writing-by-hand-makes-kids-smarter

I recently listened to a talk about the value of music. It was explained that playing an instrument increased certain kinds of IQ, better than simply listening to the same music. This is because using multiple senses to (name removed by moderator)ut information into the brain makes more neurological connections. I suspect handwriting, vs. the very passive act of typing (at least in terms of the sense of touch), is similar.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I’ve started teaching for a homeschool co-op. The jr high students turned in their first round of homework and - OMG! Their handwriting is horrendous! What happened to Catholic school penmanship???

My fifth grade teacher was penmanship drill sergeant. I see now that I was blessed.

On a related note, we’ve been combing through Church archives for genealogy stuff, and the handwriting is just beautiful. Not always readable, but beautiful!

That handwriting is called “Copperplate,” and yes, it can be very decorative, yet easy to misinterpret.

My g-grandfather’s Christian name is “Julius,” but he is forever documented as “Inkas” because the person who was transcribing the census could not read the writing of the census taker. I looked at the microfilm, and I could see “Julius,” but in the index, he’s listed as “Inkas.” Inkas!

 

[fin]

I think being able to write is still an important skill. I usually have a small notebook and pen in my bag wherever I go. I write down things that I encounter which are interesting or might be useful. Sometimes it’s even faster than typing it out on my cellphone and saving it. In the office, I work in from of the pc, but I still have have a notebook and pen in front of me. Same thing, I write down whatever is interesting or important that I might come across the Net. For long articles, I email it to myself so I can read it later. For things like addresses, numbers, I write them down. When I need it, I don’t need to scramble to the pc or Net in order to get the information I need. I find that writing down things is very helpful.

 

[gh4]

In the very near future, very few doctors will handwrite their own prescriptions.

In our city, this will happen in the next few months.

Too many errors, including fatal errors. Too many people who misuse the RX because they can’t read the doctors instructions. Too many abuses of prescriptions by patients who are addicted. Too many lawsuits–way too many lawsuits!

So in the next few months, ALL prescription by doctors in our healthcare system will be submitted online to the pharmacies. No handwritten RXs anymore.

I personally am jumping for joy. It’s way overdue.

And for those of us who have no insurance who take an RX home and call around to find the best price, what happens to us? Do we have to accept whoever the doc picks as the pharmacy? Will the doc wait for us to call around for the best price? Will he send one RX to one store and another to another store? I guess it’s fine if you have insurance and you pay a copay that doesn’t change no matter where you go, but for us who foot the entire bill for a prescription it is not going to be fun I don’t think.

 

[chevalier]

I’ve started teaching for a homeschool co-op. The jr high students turned in their first round of homework and - OMG! Their handwriting is horrendous! What happened to Catholic school penmanship???

My fifth grade teacher was penmanship drill sergeant. I see now that I was blessed.

On a related note, we’ve been combing through Church archives for genealogy stuff, and the handwriting is just beautiful. Not always readable, but beautiful!

Just make sure you don’t run into a case of disorderer fine motorics in the writing hand! Calligraphy was a nightmare for me and I’ve lost grades and failed tests for illegibility. In the era of computers, if I had been forced to practice until I could satisfy the teachers (at the cost of all my free time and most of my sanity), I’d have been one wrecked child only so that the education system could prove a point.

On the other hand, I probably had a real case of dyslexia, possibly a strong one, but learnt to spell and otherwise write correctly to the point that back in primary school the teacher would ask me when she wasn’t sure of something. I’m happy it went this way as opposed to just ignoring the problem and focusing on “communication”. Right now, I work as a translator and I just can’t stop weeping for the mistakes educated people with arts degrees make in either language.

 

[smswife]

And for those of us who have no insurance who take an RX home and call around to find the best price, what happens to us? Do we have to accept whoever the doc picks as the pharmacy? Will the doc wait for us to call around for the best price? Will he send one RX to one store and another to another store? I guess it’s fine if you have insurance and you pay a copay that doesn’t change no matter where you go, but for us who foot the entire bill for a prescription it is not going to be fun I don’t think.

Yes, the doc can send each script to whichever pharmacy you choose OR print and hand you the script to take where you prefer. (At least I’ve never seen a program in use that does not allow that.)

The point is that it is printed, not handwritten, and the programs used decrease the risk for errors in dosing and medication interactions/allergies since standard dosages are preloaded for selection and warnings pop up if necessary.

However, I still strongly believe that cursive writing should still be taught in school.