The past few months I've read several stories about hand writing no longer being taught in many school districts, and how the art of handwriting may even become extinct, giving way to technology - text, type and tweet. Just this last Sunday it was the lead story on the front page of the
Spokesman Review . According to the article,
The federal government's new "common core" standards include a composition component but leave out handwriting altogether, which has sparked much debate among researchers and educators.
Wow. Hard to believe. It seems to me not teaching students how to write, is paramount to denying them a new language , an important way to communicate way of the written word. I wonder, if students don't learn how to write , how will they know how to read the long hand letters written throughout history by philosopher, poet and politician? Or sign their name to an important document ? Just think how different our Declaration of Independence would look without the great signatures of those grand men.
Most of us of a certain age can easily recall the handwriting chart hanging above the blackboard in our elementary school classroom, and the joy we felt as second graders knowing we would no longer print our words but would learn how to write cursive, and how that seemed a small entry into the world of grown-up communication. I remember the good Sisters of Notre Dame who taught at the parochial school I attended , had the most perfect penmanship, and wanted their students to have the same. Penmanship was part of our curriculum, and time each day was given to the practice of writing letters of the alphabet. Our homework assignments included the same. When we wrote an essay for English or History, the neatness of our penmanship was taken into account.
The Palmer method - a system that dominated most of the 20th Century emphasized four qualities Palmer saw essential to good writing : Legibility, rapidity, ease and endurance. While Palmer's method set a standard and stressed conformity, each individual still has their own unique handwriting style. As example, when receiving a letter from friend or family member, I only need look at the writing on the envelope to know who it's from. In that sense, handwriting is part of our identification, like the way we walk or talk.
I think now of the lyrics to the once familiar
School Days song
School days, school days
dear old golden rule days
readin' and writing and 'rithmetic
taught to the tune of a hickory stick
and smile. I only hope handwriting and penmanship will not be lost to our nation's school children, but continue to hold a place of value, and importance in the educational system.
** NOTE: There are many on-line sites referencing penmanship & handwriting . I list one here
http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Palmer_Method_of_Penmanship
