Was: machine calligraphy nyc job opening: Long response (beware!)
- From: PoohcornerPens@xxxxxxx
- To: fr.basil@xxxxxxxxxxx, pens@xxxxxxxx, fptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 7 May 2006 11:24:42 EDT
It is NOT self serving drivel. The term "machine calligraphy" INSULTS
all real calligraphers, the best of whom are truly artists.
One of the re-occuring themes on this list, which has never, to my
knowledge, been declared off-topic, is the concern that handwriting is
"under assault" today by the dominance of the keyboard, that certain groups
in our educational system feel that handwriting is "obsolete", & shouldn't
be bothered with, that some predict that handwriting is in danger of
disappearing! As pen collectors, many of us strive to reverse this trend, &
urge others to 'get out there, fill your pen, & write!'
The idea of dong "calligraphy" on a keyboard is just one more nail in
the coffin of the handwritten word, & we should not be supporting it.
Fr. Basil
Good Morning All, (you too Fr.)
Boy, could I ever agree with anything more Fr. Basil! I post mainly these
days to sell, buy or trade pens and such, so please forgive my verbosity on
this occasion. I'm feeling a bit philosophical on this rainy Western
Washington
Sunday morning, and would like to comment on this thread.
As a middle school math teacher, who is also a certified K-8 generalist (as
well as math endorsed K-12), I see the results of a lack of emphasis on
handwriting, calligraphy, or otherwise.
Almost all states in the U.S. have instituted written performance
assessments at most of the grade levels. For instance in Washington State, we
test
reading, writing, and math at grade levels 4, 7, and 10, and test reading/math
at
grade levels 3, 5, 6, & 8. For good measure, we throw in science testing at
the 5, 8 & 10th grades. Although I'm not really commenting on the state of
assessment in our public schools, I do think it is important for the reader to
understand the extent of the testing I'm referring to. We have a state
requirement that high school students pass each section of their testing
before
they can receive "high school mastery" certificates (what most of us know as
our "high school diploma").
Each of the aforementioned assessments (teacher talk for "test") require
extensive WRITING. Students may print, scribble, draw, sketch, or write in
cursive, etc. Whatever methods students use to communicate their
understanding, it
must be LEGIBLE. I'll not comment further on the legibility issue; Kate
(Gladstone) and others called to do that work, do a marvelous job as champions
of
handwritten communication.
Our state assessments in math, reading and science for instance, require a
written response on about 50% of the questions, with 3-4 questions per section
(one section per day, over two days) requiring an "extended response",
covering about 2 pages in the test booklet. These are sort of like
math/science/reading "essays". Then there is the Writing portion of the exam,
which of
course focuses on the student writing extensively in the form of essays based
on
given writing prompts.
The result of poor penmanship (or in case "pencil-menship", since only a
wooden #2 can be used on our tests) is points lost on the various assessments
due to responses being illegible to the point of being unintelligible. IMHO,
most any student could score better if their handwriting (of whatever style)
could be more easily read. Note that I've not read many studies that have
addressed this particular issue, so most of my comments in this area are
anecdotal
and based on my experience (and that of other teachers as well).
It is against our state's administrative requirements for teachers to "read"
the assessment tests, or to review student's test booklets, but we are
required to monitor student's progress during the tests, and to make sure that
they are working only on the section of the test being taken during that
particular timeframe. So, we teachers have to at least look at the pages as we
walk
around the room during testing, giving rise to the comments I made in the
above paragraphs.
What I'm trying to provide here is a bit of background as to why I so
strongly agree with the "more handwriting with our natural hands" camp, rather
than
a complete dependence on machines to communicate in written form, albeit
"machine calligraphy" or otherwise. I know how hard many teachers and parents
work, trying to get their students/children to slow down and find a
handwriting
style with which they are comfortable. Many, many threads on this board have
discussed that effort, and the move towards cursive italic writing styles
being taught in school, rather than the old standard, cursive writing. I'll
not
get embroiled in that debate here, but I will say that my love of fountain
pens literally saved my handwriting. I had gone from very legible cursive
writing in grade school and mostly through high school to pure chicken scratch
by
the age of 30. In the last 10 years (age 55 now) my handwriting is still
improving, thanks to finding cursive italic. I'd rank the "find" of fountain
pens to be in the top 5 things in my life, with those being, finding a
relationship with God through Jesus Christ, finding my wife of 34 years,
having
children and being a parent, having 100s of "children" every year as a
teacher, and
then fountain pens.
Certainly there is a place for both forms of communication, the written word
and the typewritten (machine "calligraphy") word. Otherwise, we'd all be
snailing these responses back and forth like in the days before this
technology
was available, and we'd certainly not have the 100s of responses that could
all be read (or deleted) in a day.
That said, there has been a move towards teachers requiring that students
hand in computer generated reports and the like, rather than handwritten work.
That thread has also been discussed, but I will say that IMHO, we teachers do
our students a disservice, if we push them away from handwriting, for no
other reason than to make our jobs a little easier in reading and assessing
their work. There is the right time and place for computer generated work; I
have
a graduate degree in educational technology and curriculum design, so I
believe I understand the importance of using machines as tools. We just need
to
strike a balance. Were it not for computer graphic tools such as Microsoft
Excel and Geometer's Sketchpad, I wouldn't be able to teach mathematics as
effectively (and some would argue my effectiveness :-) as I do. Pictures do
speak
thousands of words, especially when your discussing how quadratic equations
work, or what happens when you change one or more angles on a triangle, etc. I
am thankful for having the tools. And, yes, I do have several computer
projects a year for my students where they graph data and provide a short
typewritten report. I do though provide extra credit for neat handwritten
reports;
twisted eh?
Regardless of the amount of computer work we do in my classes, I still
require a fair amount of handwriting, as mentioned above. I take opportunity
to
show students early in the school year, how they can improve their writing by
passing out several writing examples from previous students. Some are
exemplars, most are passable, some are horrible, and I let them interpret the
results. Many say "How can we learn to write like that Mr. Sanders?", when
referring
to the exemplars, none of which are my own by the way. I've been blessed to
have students over the years who can write circles around me, although I am
still improving; at least some I think. Most of my written communication with
my students is on whiteboards or using paper/pen as projected with a document
camera and LED projector (very nice tools!). I strive to be legible, even
when we're short on time in the classroom (which is always).
So, in summary, what I'm trying to communicate here is that regardless of
the way technology advances, with "machine calligraphy", StarTrek
communicators, and the like, I hope there is still a place for handwriting,
both in the
teaching and practicing of the skill. I certainly don't dream of a future
where
all fountain pens (or teachers for that matter) are in museums. Let's not
"throw out the baby with the bath water".
Thanks for listening, and have a wonderfully relaxing and blessed Sunday.
Jim Sanders
Shelton, WA (on the Hood Canal about 80 miles from Seattle).
and yes, home of the Superbowl runner-ups, Seattle Seachickens, I mean
SeaHawks
Jim Sanders
Conway Stewart & Sailor Pen Dealer
Noodler's, Sailor & PR inks
E-mail & PayPal: poohcornerpens@xxxxxxx
Snail Mail:
6350 SE Arcadia Road
Shelton, WA 98584-8332
360.426.1780
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