HANDWRITING
Do parents and/or teachers guide young children how to hold a pencil while writing? Is handwriting even considered one of the most important steps in primary learning? Given that we communicate electronically, is that even important nowadays? These questions assail me when I see poor handwriting among adults. I notice that many people do not even hold their pencil/pen in the "proper" way to enable good handwriting to result.
Before writing this blog, I did a search on the proper way for holding pen or pencil for good handwriting. I was a bit surprised to learn that there is no "right" way to hold a pen or pencil! But among all the ways, there seems to be a "gold standard". That was interesting.
The "gold standard" method is called the "Tripod" method. This method consists of holding the instrument about an inch from the tip, using the thumb and index finger with the pencil/pen resting on the middle finger. The points of intersection of pencil/pen with fingers are separated by about 120 degrees ensuring that the pencil/pen is firmly held and doesn't move. (for more information refer: https://www.insider.com/whats-the-right-way-to-hold-a-pencil-2019-7)
While reading the article referred above, I looked at how I hold my pen while writing and it seems my teachers may have done the right thing in my primary classes!
The grip issue being out of the way, let us come back to "good handwriting". Is that really important nowadays since we do almost all our communication over electronic media? What benefits do good handwriting give us? Some American states have done away with the requirements of teaching "cursive writing" to students; while some other states continue to lay importance to that. (more here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/16/cognitive-benefits-handwriting-decline-typing) While it is incontrovertible that keyboard, computers, and smartphone communication have overtaken the written word in most interactions, school going children do continue to write in notebooks - at least in India they continue to do so.
What do you think on this subject? Does promoting good handwriting with a proper grip help students do better in their education? Is that an indicator to success for the person? My personal opinion is that a better academic performance in school/college does not necessarily lead to success. It would be interesting to know more from my readers. Do comment.
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ReplyDeleteAs you know I've been learning Japanese these few years, and the problem here in Japan is even more severe. Because of their reliance on complex characters (Kanji) in their written language, the importance of learning by writing has always been high. But kids these days are increasingly avoiding learning to write in favour of typing or texting. Some say that this is a reason why the Japanese government is resistant to digitalise administrative procedures, and people still have to fill things out by hand and on paper, forcing them to learn to write properly. I'm not sure this is a great solution keeping in mind the efficiency of systems and Japan's labour force shortage, but it's still a problem.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm in favour of banning cellphones and digital devices in schools until a certain age, but when the kids get back home you can't be sure their parents will toe the school line too.
By the way, I remember trying to copy not just your handwriting but also your signature (both of which I thought were really "cool") as a kid. I think it's safe to say I've achieved moderate success on both counts!
More importantly, it's better to not judge ppl by their handwriting. Most doctors are horrible at that. Inspite of that, it has life saving prescription. Lol
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