Preserving handwriting in a high-tech world

A result of widespread computer use is that a lot of handwriting is illegible.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
y Nana, Matilda Canterucci Marino was very proud of an award she received in school. She was recognized for her fine penmanship (the Zaner Method of Arm Movement Writing). Zaner-Bloser Educational Publishers of Columbus is the nation's leading publisher of handwriting materials and courses.
She was the youngest child of Italian immigrants. Her fine handwriting was a concrete sign of an educated person. Even as she approached her seventh and eighth decade, my grandmother's penmanship remained fine.
By the time I entered school, other course work was emphasized. When I received a D in penmanship, my parents and I were not overly concerned. I did well in my other classes, and when I graduated high school, I was in the top 10 percent of my class.
Once I entered college, I concentrated on writing quickly to keep up with the rapidity of my professors' teachings. At the end of each class session, I hoped that I could later decipher my scribblings.
Today, most children are using a computer keyboard before they can print their own names.
The Internet and e-mails have replaced the more genteel correspondence of the handwritten letter.
Preserving a culture
To combat the dominance of the computer, the first annual meeting of the International Pen Association was held in New York City earlier this year. This trade group is open to people who are part of the writing instruments industry, as well as those in related fields.
"The establishment of the IPA is a historic event," chairman Glen B. Bowen said. "This is a critical time for the writing instruments industry. As computers and e-mail threaten to make writing by hand obsolete, it is more important than ever to preserve and advance the culture of handwriting."
One of the goals of the IPA is to foster handwriting education. Bowen believes that during the past two generations, handwriting skills were not emphasized, so teachers are not equipped with the skills to instruct their pupils in proper handwriting.
To counteract this, Bowen said, "We plan to do it at several levels. There are some retailers and brands that have already been involved with specific school systems to try and encourage writing in schools through various means. We also will take it to a much larger level and talk to larger school systems, and hopefully we'll get some national attention in terms of educators regarding handwriting."
Variety of methods
The result of the widespread use of computers and the decrease in handwriting education is that a lot of handwriting is illegible.
"There are hospitals that are already conducting handwriting course work for their doctors because some of these hospitals have been sued over prescriptions and doctors' orders that couldn't be read -- the wrong thing being given and causing harm to patients," Bowen said.
In the schools, five styles of cursive handwriting are being taught: Getty-Dubay, Palmer, Bowmar/Noble, Zaner-Bloser and D'Nealian.
Each has a slightly different method of moving a child from manuscript handwriting (commonly called "printing") to cursive. According to one comparison chart, shape changes can be from one to 26, and slope changes can be from none to 52.
All that can create some confusion, but whatever method a student uses, the grown-up style of writing is a version of cursive in all disciplines.
Hands-on approach
For the second-graders Linda Weimer teaches at Howland Glen Primary School, none of that matters. They're using the Zaner-Bloser method to learn to write like grown-ups.
"For them at this age it's a way of them thinking that they are being like their parents -- older -- they're growing up," she said.
Weimer fuels the children's enthusiasm with projects such as writing pen-pal letters, penning letters to parents and writing in a journal.
"A lot of them are ready," she said. "They're wanting to write in cursive -- a lot of them as soon as they come into second grade."
Weimer learned the Zaner-Bloser method of handwriting when she transferred to the second grade. The handwriting company held a workshop that she attended.
As part of their training, the pupils receive additional help from the occupational therapist.
"We use special grippers to have them hold their pencil correctly," Weimer said. "Our occupational therapist comes around to the classrooms and shows the correct form as far as how they should sit. If they learn the correct form right off the bat, their arms won't be cramped. Their hands won't be cramped. It helps them do a much more legible job."
Personal touch
Marie A. Picon, editorial director of Pen World International, a magazine that caters to the high-end pen collector, concluded that there will continue to be a market for pens and the personal touch of handwriting.
"Others have pointed out that we are becoming increasingly technically oriented, [which] is a reason to do more handwritten communication -- sort of a countering-high-tech Picon said. "People will crave that more when they spend good portions of their day typing or looking at the computer screen."
Picon envisions a future where the pen and handwriting can exist harmoniously with the computer.
In her opinion, "Electronic communication and handwritten communication serve different functions. Just because electronic communications are available doesn't mean that they're the best choice in every instance. I think attitudes have changed, but I don't think that the importance of handwriting has gone away. It may serve a different purpose. There will always be a need to create personal communication."