What Handwriting Did You Learn In School?

[tjchervy]

I really don't remember, but I'm sure my teacher despaired I would ever be able to write something readable. That changed until I became interested in calligraphy and I taught myself letter formation and learned several different styles.

 

Now, my writing is a combination of Copperplate and Spencerian and whatever it was I learned. It has become very readable, and I often have sales clerks comment on my handwriting.

[dcwaites]

Reviving this thread because of another thread.

What I was taught was called "Running Writing"...

 

I have been looking through all the examples, and it seems that the closest to what I was taught was either the Portugese or Dutch styles, even though I was living in a colonial territory of Australia at the time (Papua) and was under the curriculum of one of the Australian States (Queensland or NSW, I can't remember).

 

We were taught using dip pens, with "School", "Clerical" or "Post Office" nibs and a 1/4" wooden pen holder. Ink was poured (very gently) from a large bottle into ink wells in the desks. I was surprised at the time that it didn't evapourate from the open ink wells (this being the tropics) but the ink would develop a skin that seemed to limit evapouration.

[DrDebG]

Shall I tell you a sad sob story?

 

Well, since you asked . . .

 

Back in the early 60's in Southern California there was a little blonde girl with turquoise eyes who went to kindergarten for the first time. She already knew her alphabet and could make the letters very well in typical block fashion. But her teacher didn't like how she wrote. You see, the little girl was left handed. The teacher said she couldn't write that way and had to write with her right hand. "You are still young enough to learn how to write properly", the teacher said. The little girl tried, but her letters were terrible, so she put the pencil in her left hand and rewrote the letters. The teacher wasn't happy, so she took off her scarf and bound the little girl's left hand behind her back. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable.

 

That night when the little girl went home, her mother asked her how school was. Because the little girl was brought up to respect her elders, she didn't tell about the teacher tying her hand up. The next day, she went back to school and the teacher had a piece of muslin cloth to tie the little girls hand with. And so, for the rest of the year, the little girl tried to learn how to write with her right hand. But her letters were not very good. The little girl's mother just could not understand why her daughter was getting poor marks in school for penmanship because when she was at home, she wrote beautifully with her left hand. The next two years, the little girl had the same teacher. And everyday, her left hand was tied behind her back.

 

Finally, when she was in second grade, she took home her report card. The little girl's father was angry at her poor penmanship grade. The little girl tearfully told her parents that the teacher tied her left hand behind her back everyday. But her parents didn't believe that such a kind teacher would do that. More and more, the little girl was becoming discouraged. Finally, one day she said she wasn't going to go to school anymore. Her parents told her she had to go to school, but she refused and ran away to Grandma's house (about a block away).

 

The little girl's mother knew that something was very wrong. So she went to talk to the little girl's teacher. She asked the teacher if she tied her daughter's hand behind her back. Oh, but the teacher denied it! As the mother was walking away, very perplexed, another little girl from her daughter's class came to talk with her. The little girl said that yes, the teacher did tie her daughter's left hand behind her, which made her daughter cry. The teacher would then send her to the back of the room to work quietly by herself.

 

That night, the little girl with blonde hair and turquoise eyes was asked again about what happened in school. She quietly told her parents expecting to be punished. But her parents just looked at each other nodding the way parents do. They didn't punish her and even told her she didn't have to go back to school if she didn't want to. They apologized for not believing her and even gave her an extra scoop of ice cream.

 

The next day her parents visited with the principal, who called in the teacher, who denied it all calling their daughter a liar. The principal then called in several of the children in her class, and finally, the children told them what had been transpiring for the last few years.

 

A week or so later, the family had a visitor. It was the 3rd grade teacher at the school. She asked if she could come in and visit with the little girl and her parents. She had heard about what had happened to the little girl and wanted to see if she could help. You see, she was left handed too! And she had beautiful penmanship. She asked if she could come over each night and tutor the little girl in penmanship with her left hand! The little girl was so excited because she loved to write. She showed the teacher all of her stories that she had written with her left hand. The teacher agreed that she did have nice writing. But, she told the little girl, it was very important to show everyone the very best penmanship. And it the midst of their penmanship lessons, she also taught the little girl all of the other lessons that she was missing at school.

 

It didn't take long. The little girl learned quickly. By the end of the semester, the little girl was ahead of her class in every subject, especially penmanship. For many years after, the little girl had the highest grade in penmanship, English, History and Science.

 

All because of one third grade teacher who saw potential rather than conformity.

[Shaggy]

I was taught Palmer method and hated the look of the letters.

Taught myself cursive italic in junior high, which I still use to this day. (It's the way they learn handwriting in Italy; my Italian cousins showed me).

[katerchen]

This. The girls in our class -- obviously -- mastered it perfectly. Me, I was the bane of my elementary school teacher

 

 

 

[DanielCoffey]

I was at a small Primary school in the Channel Islands (UK) in the early to mid-70s at the time of the imperial to decimal changeover. Not only did I have to handle that, but it was about the time when the school stopped teaching penmanship and was instead satisfied with any legible writing style. Fortunately as a Leftie, I was not censured at all and once the fact that I was left-handed was identified, I was allowed to carry on using that hand.

 

Tools at the time were pencil and we learned a basic "joined up writing" with only a few rules such as the lower case o not being an up and over loop but having the reverse at the top.

 

Then in late Primary my parents moved to Exeter in England for one year and the Primary I was in issued all children with a school fountain pen that took short cartridges. It was the first time I had ever seen a "real" pen and I was delighted. I don't remember having smudging issues but I was disappointed that it didn't do what the comics promised... where was the gush of ink squirting right across the room with pinpoint accuracy?

 

After that year I was back at the old Primary for one more year and then off to Secondary where there were no writing classes at all. By then it was assumed we would have legible writing... joined up or block didn't matter. We were left to our own devices.

 

So now, I am still using a fountain pen and don't have any of the typical Leftie problems but do find my style untidy and it deteriorates rapidly over the course of about one page and I get slight cramps in the hand.

 

I spy some penmanship exercises in my future...

[Newjelan]

I was at a small Primary school in the Channel Islands (UK) in the early to mid-70s at the time of the imperial to decimal changeover. Not only did I have to handle that, but it was about the time when the school stopped teaching penmanship and was instead satisfied with any legible writing style. Fortunately as a Leftie, I was not censured at all and once the fact that I was left-handed was identified, I was allowed to carry on using that hand.

 

Tools at the time were pencil and we learned a basic "joined up writing" with only a few rules such as the lower case o not being an up and over loop but having the reverse at the top.

 

...

I spy some penmanship exercises in my future...

Interesting Daniel, your experience at primary school mirrors mine in Melbourne, Australia at around the same time.

 

A few years ago, I noticed my handwriting was getting worse and worse and decided to teach myself a form of italic for everyday use. My handwriting is much better and the cramps have gone.

[katerchen]

A few years ago, I noticed my handwriting was getting worse and worse and decided to teach myself a form of italic for everyday use. My handwriting is much better and the cramps have gone.

 

I find that even an Italic nib helps. Even if I don't try anything fancy, just slow down a bit and keep my normal handwriting it looks much better simply by virtue of using a Medium/Bold cursive or stub italic nib.

 

-k

[Charles Rice]

I was taught Zaner-Bloser, but I never learned it.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

 

[Dolganoff]

Here's mine, very oviously based on the 1970's German "Ausgangsschrift"

 

 

And here's how it looks used in real life (from a a handwriting practice on /r/Handwriting subreddit):

 

 

 

 

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Here's mine, very oviously based on the 1970's German "Ausgangsschrift"

Someone else uses that H and I!!! Woo, yeah!

[Dolganoff]

Someone else uses that H and I!!! Woo, yeah!

 

When I was in college and had to write a lot, I simplified a lot of the shapes, but now I'm back to the origins

[Newjelan]

I find that even an Italic nib helps. Even if I don't try anything fancy, just slow down a bit and keep my normal handwriting it looks much better simply by virtue of using a Medium/Bold cursive or stub italic nib.

 

-k

I agree with slowing down and that was a key reason I returned to fountain pens 20+ yrs ago. Ive just discovered Left foot obliques and these seem to have an excellent impact on the look of my handwriting.

[Carrau]

My parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and their respective friends all learned the Palmer method in local schools, and I’ve found their writing is difficult to distinguish, one from the other when reading their letters, postcards, yearbooks, etc. it must have been a very consistent/reproducible, teachable method.

[PAKMAN]

Don't recall the method, just called it cursive. I was in 6 different schools between kindergarten and 5th grade so no consistency. I was terrible at it and was made to go back and take lessons from a lower grade in the 5th grade. My cursive notes were not very good and I often couldn't read my own notes! Went to college as an Engineer and was encouraged to use block printing rather than cursive for drafting and notes. Even at faster speed necessary for note taking, my block printing notes were far easier to read than my cursive. 15 years ago when I started using fountain pens I slowed way down in my writing speed and took up cursive again. Not beautiful but very legible and enjoyable.

[oneill]

The attached image shows a copy book used in Queensland schools in the 60s. Our desks had ink wells, and we used steel nibs. Interesting to see the way that the teaching of handwriting was used for teaching all sorts of values and norms. Also interesting to see the change in environmental thinking - people now go to Tangalooma to WATCH whales rather than to hunt them!

 

The attached image shows a copy book used in Queensland schools in the 60s. Our desks had ink wells, and we used steel nibs. Interesting to see the way that the teaching of handwriting was used for teaching all sorts of values and norms. Also interesting to see the change in environmental thinking - people now go to Tangalooma to WATCH whales rather than to hunt them!

 

The attached image shows a copy book used in Queensland schools in the 60s. Our desks had ink wells, and we used steel nibs. Interesting to see the way that the teaching of handwriting was used for teaching all sorts of values and norms. Also interesting to see the change in environmental thinking - people now go to Tangalooma to WATCH whales rather than to hunt them!

This is almost the same as the Three lined paper used in the English Lesson in the school that I attended in the UK,the 0nly difference was that the middle line was a little nearer to the bottom line to keep the top of the letter in place which made with practice the Handwriting to be Fabulous at all times.Oneill

[oneill]

This is an excellent sample from a 4th-grade child in my country. I don't have mine in primary school to upload, and my handwriting isn't as nice as this one. But generally, this handwriting is what kids are taught in primary school.

 

This is an excellent sample from a 4th-grade child in my country. I don't have mine in primary school to upload, and my handwriting isn't as nice as this one. But generally, this handwriting is what kids are taught in primary school.

This writing is so appropriate it should be taught in ALL Schools surely we cant all be such bad writers,When I see Birth Certificates or similar documents from the past I am always impressed by the way almost all certificates are written with perfect script,I remember a welfare recipient attending a welfare office to Sign On and being given a job on the spot for his handwriting and he had that job until he retired!!!!! Oneill

[oneill]

This is an excellent sample from a 4th-grade child in my country. I don't have mine in primary school to upload, and my handwriting isn't as nice as this one. But generally, this handwriting is what kids are taught in primary school.

What a fabulous example of very good handwriting, the school must have been very pleased with what they taught

[JulieParadise]

Shall I tell you a sad sob story? [...] All because of one third grade teacher who saw potential rather than conformity.

 

Aaaaw, what a great story! It is heartbreaking that there were _YEARS_ during which the little girl had to suffer, but such a relief to see how it turned out.