Yesterday afternoon I picked up my children from school, "How was your day?" I asked them.
"Great!" my seven year old son unhesitatingly blurted out happily.
"Not good," was his younger sister's response. This was unusual for her since she often enjoys her time in school.
She explained that she had a substitute teacher for the day and was told off quite strongly for having such BIG (and I assume) messy handwriting. Now don't get me wrong, I have only my daughter's words regarding what happened but I cannot ignore the impression that the event left on my child's mind...Big writing is bad; small writing is good; neatness is the only thing that matters.
"But mummy," my five year old continued, "I can't write small!"
Do we as teachers put too much emphasis on penmanship and not enough on the content being written?
Well think of this, I began helping my husband's young cousin with his school work when he was about ten years old. I couldn't help admiring the level of neatness in his books and the beauty of his penmanship. But admiration turned to concern when I began giving him work to do. It seemed to be a monumental task to get him to complete anything that was given, even when he fully understood the work or when I lessened the amount.
The problem? His efforts to maintain the all important level of masterful penmanship that was treasured by his various teachers over the years almost crippled any efforts in speed and efficiency.
I always remember a fellow teacher made an astute comment during a staff meeting one afternoon. At the time she taught a class of 'post-primary' students who were so weak in their academics that they had 'failed' their high school entrance exam (Common Entrance) and had to remain in primary school to try to bring them up to scratch. Some of her students couldn't even read although averaging 13 years of age.
"These students have the BEST handwriting of students that I have ever taught and most can barely read what they write (or copy)."
In fact it is near lunacy when a neighbour of mine comes to me with concern on her face upon learning that her young, barely five year old daughter who had just started a private primary school has been given homework to practice her cursive writing!!!!!
(Fortunately she was smart enough to take her child out of that school.)
So what do I tell my disappointed five year old? Get your thoughts on paper honey, the neatness will follow with practice one day.
Write out loud, write out big, write out loud!
"Great!" my seven year old son unhesitatingly blurted out happily.
"Not good," was his younger sister's response. This was unusual for her since she often enjoys her time in school.
She explained that she had a substitute teacher for the day and was told off quite strongly for having such BIG (and I assume) messy handwriting. Now don't get me wrong, I have only my daughter's words regarding what happened but I cannot ignore the impression that the event left on my child's mind...Big writing is bad; small writing is good; neatness is the only thing that matters.
"But mummy," my five year old continued, "I can't write small!"
Do we as teachers put too much emphasis on penmanship and not enough on the content being written?
Well think of this, I began helping my husband's young cousin with his school work when he was about ten years old. I couldn't help admiring the level of neatness in his books and the beauty of his penmanship. But admiration turned to concern when I began giving him work to do. It seemed to be a monumental task to get him to complete anything that was given, even when he fully understood the work or when I lessened the amount.
The problem? His efforts to maintain the all important level of masterful penmanship that was treasured by his various teachers over the years almost crippled any efforts in speed and efficiency.
I always remember a fellow teacher made an astute comment during a staff meeting one afternoon. At the time she taught a class of 'post-primary' students who were so weak in their academics that they had 'failed' their high school entrance exam (Common Entrance) and had to remain in primary school to try to bring them up to scratch. Some of her students couldn't even read although averaging 13 years of age.
"These students have the BEST handwriting of students that I have ever taught and most can barely read what they write (or copy)."
In fact it is near lunacy when a neighbour of mine comes to me with concern on her face upon learning that her young, barely five year old daughter who had just started a private primary school has been given homework to practice her cursive writing!!!!!
(Fortunately she was smart enough to take her child out of that school.)
So what do I tell my disappointed five year old? Get your thoughts on paper honey, the neatness will follow with practice one day.
Write out loud, write out big, write out loud!
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