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January 23 has been designated American Handwriting Day, and the whole month of January is considered handwriting month of the year.
Unfortunately, many school districts are no longer teaching our children to write in cursive. In those institutions that do, lessons are abbreviated to make room for other standards.
More people of different age groups now use print writing. However, their signature is usually penned in cursive style.
“Americans still need to sign their checks, drivers’ licenses, when receiving a registered letter at the post office, as well as signing one’s name to support a candidate for public office.”
According to a recent article in Psychology Today, cursive writing is an important tool for cognitive development. Specifically, cursive writing trains the young brain to learn functional specialization, which enhances efficiency in performance of special tasks.
When a child learns to read and write in cursive through consistent practice and repetition, he or she must effectively integrate fine motor skills with visual and tactile processing abilities. This is similar to doing needle work, knitting and crocheting that men and women enjoy doing in their spare time.
Research suggests that printing letters and writing cursive activates different parts of the brain. Learning cursive is good for the development of children’s fine motor skills and writing longhand generally helps students retain more information and generate more ideas.
There is also the belief that learning to write in cursive can help ease symptoms of dyslexia. Since new research shows that dyslexia is caused by a functional disconnection in communication between the auditory and language centers of the brain, it stands to reason that learning to write in cursive can improve these communication deficits.
Graphologist Graziella Pettinati of Canada likens handwriting to being the mirror of one’s soul. Print writing is a manner of reproducing shapes, whereas cursive writing forces upon the student a method of managing space between letters and words, as well as controlling proportions relating to median, upper and lower zones.
Apart from just putting pen to paper, the art of handwriting starts with the correct posture at the student’s desk with both feet on the ground and a straight back. The choice of writing instrument is important. Pencils are often discouraged in the classroom because text can easily be erased, whereas ink requires more forethought.
How a student handles his pen or pencil is another important aspect of writing and drawing. Some pupils tend to lean over their writing instrument, others have an unusual way of holding a pen, and some have a cramped grip that impedes free movement of the arm.
In the absence of a comprehensive school program for the development of writing skills, parents may consider tutoring their children by availing themselves of the latest cursive alphabet designed and approved by most American and Canadian Handwriting Analysts (see New American Cursive Graphic below left).
The New American Cursive Copybook can be obtained by contacting Iris Hatfield of HuVista International of Louisville, KY at 502 253-1954, www.NewAmericanCursive.com.
A CD program is available for the very young writer that allows parents or instructors to create individual practice sheets in minutes, customized to each student’s habitual writing size. The program includes easy-to-follow dots and arrows, giving students a basic method of drawing letter formations in a logical, efficient way.
The best way to teach the alphabet to very young writers is through dance. Each letter can be written in the air with movements that include the whole body. For more emphasis on form, a lightweight scarf may be added to the dance. This method allows for quicker learning and the child can better remember the letter when reading or writing.
As young writers grow and mature, their style of writing will change until about the age of 25 when it is expected to remain stable, bar traumatic experiences.
It is advantageous for children to learn a specific format from which they may deviate later in life, according to character and personality. And this new alphabet is the best available at this time, endorsed by a majority of American and Canadian Handwriting Analysts.
During handwriting month, and every month thereafter, you may consider sitting down and writing a beautiful letter to someone you love.
For more information, please contact sky@theriver.com.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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