And it’s all my fault! I wouldn’t know the first thing about teaching handwriting. Whatever I learnt as a kid, I have over time replaced with a legible but decidedly mediocre blend of joined and block writing. I wasn’t trained how to teach handwriting because my University didn’t think it was important. The new Australian Curriculum has decided to make handwriting a priority (but cannot decide on what style of script to adopt). I wouldn’t know where to start teaching handwriting. Heck, I’ll need to learn it myself.
As a result, my students’ handwriting is shabby. I’m supposed to be giving out pen licenses next year, but at this rate, my ten-year old students are more likely to get their drivers licenses first.
I recently read and article with a quote condemning the lack of formal handwriting teaching in classrooms.
Have you noticed the decline in handwriting? I recently gave a birthday gift to a 13-year-old boy, and got back a thank-you note written in chicken scratches. He had attended the public schools of an affluent suburban community.
I’ve seen handwriting books around the school which basically get kids to copy a given letter multiple time all the way down the page. It looks so boring. How do I go about teaching a skill which seems so mundane when I am trying to engage the students and make them excited by learning?
I’m interested in your experiences in teaching handwriting? Do you teach handwriting? How do the students respond?
Topical Teaching 
December 7, 2010 at 9:39 pm |
I am doctor who writes. When my boy was in grade school, he brought home a report card with all “A’s” except for one “B” in writing.
I said, “Son, if you’d just work on your writing a little you could make all “A’s.”
He said, “Daddy, I don’t want to do school writing, I want to do hospital writing like you.”
I signed his card and let it go at that.
Dr. B, author, “The Mandolin Case”
December 7, 2010 at 9:43 pm |
Lol! That’s a fantastic story! My wife’s a doctor, and I’m afraid to admit it, but she actually has much better handwriting than I do. Thanks for the sensational anecdote Dr. Tom.
December 9, 2010 at 9:44 pm |
Michael,
The true stories are the best ones, huh?
Hey, your wife might like my blog or book. As far as I know I’m the world’s only physician bluegrass fiction writer. My novel, “The Mandolin Case,” is a medical legal mystery resolved by the local music community. I did my best to show the truth, but told no facts in an effort to protect the guilty.
The story has been much fun. It serves as a roadmap for how to side-step the bad guys, and has left ’em scratching their heads in frustration and unable to figure out what to do about it all.
Dr. B
December 9, 2010 at 10:00 pm |
Thanks. Must check out your blog Dr. B.