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From: crs@lanl.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: handwriting
Message-ID: <31656@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 9-Oct-85 12:08:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: lanl.31656
Posted: Wed Oct  9 12:08:09 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 18:56:49 EDT
References: <178@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 47

> Actually, I would go further and say that people with bad handwriting, both 
> men AND women, may be less conformist.  Penmanship is one of the most 
> constricting subjects that children are taught--at least it was to me.  
> All that practice at making perfect loops seemed so stupid.  A lot of drill 
> to try and make everyone do something exactly the same.  Yuck.

I guess I believed some version of this when when they wanted *me* to
practice all those loops and stuff.  (I go back to the Palmer Method;
anyone remember the Palmer Method?)  I don't know that I believe it
now.  I even wish now that I had practiced more because the Palmer
Method was capable of producing writers with beautiful *legible*
handwriting.

The reason that I don't now believe that the practice that is required
for good handwriting is conducive to conformism and that the effect is
to make everyone exactly the same is the same reason that I don't
believe that practicing scales causes all musicians to be exactly the
same.  Of course the attitude and method of the teacher may, in many
cases, be more acceptable to more conforming students.

Perhaps it would be better if penmanship teachers would explain this
to their students (assuming that anyone would listen at that age).
Perhaps penmanship teachers should emulate *good* music teachers, who,
it seems, are able to get their students to practice all of those
nasty scales without making conformists of them.  Wouldn't it be
boring if all musicians were "exactly the same?"

I certainly believe that the interests of good penmanship would be
better served if less emphasis were placed on having everyone use
exactly the same cursive alphabet.  I realize that this simplifies
things for the teacher but I believe it *does* alienate those less
conforming students.  (What I should have said above is that teaching
or learning good penmanship *needn't* be an exercise in conformism.)
Obviously, the letters & words must be recognizable but they certainly
*don't* need to be anything close to identical.

In my case, I must admit that my failure to adequately practice the
ovals and slants of Palmer Method probably had more to do with
laziness and boredom than with non conformism.  Though I must also admit
that I don't put much effort into conforming either, I don't think
that was an issue there.
-- 
All opinions are mine alone...

Charlie Sorsby
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