When I read this post at Strollerderby, I nearly cried with joy. It seems that kids who spend a lot of time making sure their handwriting is neat sacrifice in grades. I can definitely attest to that. From about third grade on, any time there was a grade to be had in handwriting, I would get a C. My other grades were great, but I got solid Cs in handwriting.
Except in fourth grade. I had a teacher named Mrs Wilson, who on the first day of school wrote her name beautifully on the blackboard and then proceeded to spend an hour lecturing us on how important good handwriting was. "Oh, crap," I thought. "I am screwed."
Okay, in fourth grade, I probably didn’t articulate the exact thought that I was screwed, but I sure knew I was sunk. Third grade had been a battle, we had to learn to write in cursive and I wasn’t good at it at all. I’d spend tons of time trying to make it look nice, but it was horrible. Finally, my third grade teacher told me to just make sure it was legible enough to read and I went and took my Cs in handwriting and my As in everything else.
But fourth grade, oh man. Handwriting counted in every grade I got, not just handwriting. So I would spend 4 hours every night laboring over my homework and still end up getting a C on the entire piece of homework, even if every answer was right- because my handwriting was so bad. As a result, I got straight Cs in fourth grade, and had my parents tearing their hair out constantly because of my bad grades. "Can’t you just slow down and write better?" My mom, of the beautiful penmanship, asked. My dad, who is lefthanded and also writes in a beautiful copperplate hand, was also perplexed.
I don’t know why my cursive handwriting is so ugly. Even if I write at a snail’s speed, it’s barely legible. My printing is fine. I think it’s attractive, even. But my cursive handwriting is just ugly. So, seeing this study was really validating for me.
Come on, I know at least some of you guys have ugly cursive writing. Speak out, brothers and sisters!
[Image: Teachnology]
Technorati Tags: handwriting, penmanship, school gradesAdd to:
Sorry. I have beautiful handwriting and got good grades! Heh.
Posted by: Kathy T. | December 6th, 2007 9:40 am |
My son's handwriting is so appallingly bad that even he can't make it out. So what if he'll never be a calligrapher or diamond cutter? He's extremely bright, and as our pediatrician pointed out a few years ago, by the time he's in middle school he'll be able to use voice recognition software so what does it really matter if his writing amounts to little more than squiggles? He's in fifth grade so the teachers still pay attention to handwriting but I told them I didn't care if he wrote or printed and they were okay with letting him print if it was more comfortable.
Posted by: feefifoto | December 6th, 2007 9:48 am |
Ok Ivy, I'll admit that my cursive writing is very average. Not beautifully crafted with the perfect slant and somewhat disorganized looking in my opinion. Others say they think it is good handwriting but when I compare it to others, I think it pales in comparison. I think with me it is a matter of not taking the time to slow down to make it perfect. No time for that anymore…as a matter of fact, it is getting worse as I get older and busier.
Posted by: Kathy H. | December 6th, 2007 12:01 pm |
How much does anyone actually write anymore? Your signature is about it, and even most of that is on those self-scanning card readers at the store.
I'm so glad my guidance counselor in HS made us take a typing class before he would allow us to take computer programming. This was back when dinosaurs (like my guidance counselor) still roamed the earth and very few people took "computers" in high school.
Are kids being taught how to type correctly? If so at what age? Of all the things I learned in HS, it's probably been the one skill that I've used the most.
Posted by: Jay | December 9th, 2007 7:51 pm |