Cursive Part II
January 6th, 2010
Scientists tell us that the act of crawling actually creates hard wiring in the brain of small children. It actually helps their brains develop. Quite a concept. To skip this crucial stage from helplessness to walking can be decidedly detrimental to the future learning of said child. Think of that, something as simple as learning to crawl before taking first steps can make a huge difference.
The act of brain to hand to paper feels much like the act of rolling over, getting up on all fours and scurrying across the floor to explore new venues, as is the act of those first laborious marks made on paper, small hand wrapped around the long slim contours of a number two pencil, or even the stubbier lines of a Crayola. From brain to hand to paper. It feels…necessary somehow. To first print out your very own name and recognize it as such. Heady stuff.
Remember the Palmer method? According to Wikipedia, The Palmer Method of penmanship instruction was developed and promoted by Austin Palmer in the early 1900s. It soon became the most popular handwriting system in the United States.
Then, bit by bit, the Palmer Method was weaseled out as students were first taught “manuscript” or printing first so they could have a method of written expression as soon as possible. It’s just that next step that seems to have been lost, many students not moving on to this next step. WHY!? It seems to this blogger that once again kids are being underestimated.
So, what happened to taking those first chicken-scratches to graduating to the near elegance of cursive writing? Yes, it takes time and effort and perseverance, so what’s wrong with that? All good things do. We are already in danger of losing the beauty and symmetry of language with keyboards and phone pads and slicing and dicing words with counterfeit communication. Don’t get me started.
What do you think?
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