handwriting, the lost art
Oddly enough I found several articles in newspapers this past weekend about the dying art of cursive handwriting. One story reported that an 18 year old had not done any handwriting for school work since grade 4. Students did not remember how to form the letter “I”. All school work was done on the computer and sent as an electronic file or printed and submitted.
The stories pointed to the difficulty teachers face trying to decipher handwritten tests. One private school in Scotland has reintroduced fountain pen handwriting as a curriculum element, almost all work is done with fountain pen.
Handwriting is still part of everyday life. A basic form of communication.
I wonder where those Scottish students buy their fountain pens. My local Staples store had no fountain pens the last time I enquired when I was trying to hunt down some fountain pen cartridges. My next trip down to Toronto, they will be on my shopping list.
My favourite pen is a Rotring 600 fountain pen. On my favourites list of pens: Pilot Fineliner and the venerable Parker T-ball Jotter. I find the Cross ball points a little on the skinny side, but the quality is undeniable.
At the other end of the spectrum but still serviceable, the simple BIC ball point pen with the transparent barrel. I try to keep one or two in my car. I jot notes when I sit with a coffee or am waiting for a friend to show up.
Every year before school resumes, I see bags of a dozen of these simple writing instruments for less than $2.00. I usually pick up a bag or two of BICs. It is an annual reflex and its accompanying purchase is a package of 500 sheets of lined 3-hole punched note paper. Part of the cycle of my seasons. Both are an irresistable urge.
I remember using a Sheaffer fountain pen with cartridges in grade school, 4th grade? The pen’s cost $1.49, if my memory is accurate. A package with pen and a box of 5 ink cartridges. They use to leak a little and my fingers got ink on them as I wrote. I enjoy writing with a fountain pen. Call me old-fashioned and be careful when we shake hands, the ink on my fingers may be fresh.
In Britain we can buy fountain pens in any stationery store. WH Smiths is in every small town and has a good stock of pens, ink and cartridges … including items designed for kids.
Some schools require students to write with a fountain pen from age 7 or 8. For kids (like my youngest son, whose handwriting deteriorates when he uses a fountain pen nib, especially when he uses it upside down!) there are Berol Handwriting pens, which are designed to help kids get used to the flow of ink without a fountain pen nib. In my humble parental opinion, having bought several for my middle school kids, LAMY produces the best fountain pen for students in Britain—or should I say Europe?—as this German company has won tons of product awards. LAMY pens are cool, and are standard fare for middle school students.
I could tell you all sorts of stories about handwriting, as American cursive (which my two oldest kids learned) is different from British cursive (which all three have to use now!) As a result of our transatlantic relocation my kids have had to relearn writing styles, which is particularly difficult for one of my sons who was diagnosed with dysgraphia last year. In his case, keyboard use was recommended for essays, but he was determined to persist with a fountain pen, and has succeeded
The keyboard recommendation is what introduced him (and me) to blogging! Long story; perhaps I shall blog it one day.
inel
March 21, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Perhaps the most powerful yet most overlooked advantage of a computer in developing writing skills is as a glorified typewriter. It allows an approach to teaching writing that is impossible with a pencil and paper, and may have its greatest impact in the earlier years of school.This is the first of a series of articles to explore the introduction of laptop computers in a kindergarten class.
http://lllol.wordpress.com/
Andrew Cosgrove
February 15, 2009 at 6:30 am