PRINT SCRIPT

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1924, Page 13

PRINT SCRIPT

CHANGES OF HAND-

WRITING

REASON FOR A CHANGE

(By Miss "W. G. Maitlaiid, Head of the

Normal School, Kelbnrn.)

The following interesting statement on tho subject of print-script, which has recently been much discussed in these columns, has been handed to us {or publication from the Education Board Offico as it was too late for inclusion- in the order paper this week ;—. "*

In view of the recent attention in the Press to the question of print-script writing, it may be of interest to know what is being done in England and elsewhere in the matter, As those who so readily criticise this form of handwriting must necessarily' do so from an exceedingly limited experience, it is as well to konw that it fa no longer in the experimental stage in Great Britain, and that it is fully supported by tha Board of Education.

The handwriting in the sehoels to-day Is decidedly good, gome maintain it is too good, The real trouble lies in the fact that It inevitably degenerates as the child grows to the adult, until it frequently becomes that illegible scrawl that is neither usse nor ornament It is the realisation of this fact that has driven ed^? ator3 to seek the root of the trouble. Those of the following statements that are in quotation marks are from a. pamphlet (No. 40), by His Majesty's Inspecters of the Board of Education, London ! !

"It la well-known that both the Roman and Italio letters of the printing press and our ordinary handwriting are the direct descendants of the handwriting of the Italian scribes of the Renascence, who had remodelled their writing on the beautiful round Italian writing of the 11th and 12th centuries, In the course of time this Italian handwriting has degenerated into our ordinary hand, the degeneration having been assisted. by the copper-plate style of the 18th century with its fondness for loops and flourishes, and completed by the general adoption of the fine-pointed steel pen in the 19th century, It la tho sense of dissatisfaction produced by a comparison of the ordinary handwriting to-day with the models of the 16th century, which ' has led to the movement in favour of print-script." !- The copper-plate took its form in order to_ meet the requirements of the engraver's tool, and was never intended to bs a model. Efforts to exact the wholly artificial position and movement necessary for its production with a pen have been futile, for as soon as pressure or compulsion was withdrawn from the child, he adopted a new form of his own. It is this that has given rise to the adverse comments by employers, The three R's, so much belauded, are not educational ends—indeed, in themselves, they are not educative at all. They are only means, yery useful means, certainly—to an end, tools by which a child may acquire his education. Unthinking people, in spite of the many examplees to the contrary, appear to imagine that good penmanship and "education" are inseparable. The fact of the matter is that there is little relationship. We have educated men who are shocking penmen, just as we have excellent penmen who are shockingly educated. READING AND WRITING. In England, since 1913, the form of print-script writing has been very generally in operation. "Some education authorities definitely require its adoption. The advantages of print-scripts in the infants' school are obvious. The beginner learns one alphabet for use in both reading and writing, and the writing lesson becomes a valuable supplement to the reading lesson. The beginner learns to read and write with greater ease and some saving of time. The simple skeleton forms of the letters reduce the strain on immature finger and arm muscles to a minimum. Young children write more with less fatigue." An improvement has been made in spelling, and this has been generally attributed to the fact that the child' 6 mind is not distracted by two interchangeable alphabets. A generally iiigher 6 tandard of neatness and finish in all work has been found, accompanied by a marked saving of the time devoted to the teaching of writing. "A common objection to print-script is that it will fail to develop individuality in writing, and that there will ba difficulty in obtaining the consent of banks, the Post Office, and the Law Courts, to the signature in print-script. It is generally admitted that the printscript of older children exhibits' as great individuality as their ordinary handwriting used to do, and there is evidence that the Post Office has already accepted print-script signatures for Savings Certificates. The objection is only valid inso far as post-script remains a matter of isolated letters. If it is taught as a means to the formation of a finished cursive hand, in which these letters are joined whose forms lend themselves to it naturally, the objection falls to the ground." "The feared less of individuality would, perhaps, appear an advantage to those critics who have for many years preached the doctrine of uniformity, and to the teachers who have with varying degrees of Tmsuccess laboured to obtain it. But in practice it is found that the same mental and physical peculiarities which cause the cursive writing of different persons to show individuality and character operate with at least equal force in tho case of print-script. The reading of careless, cursive writ-' ing requires considerable practice Clifl* dren trained to writing the ordinary school cursivo, or 'Civil Service' style, find irreat difficulty in making out an adult's careless scribble, and those taught to write print-script are not likely to find it any more easy, ' comparative' speed. The question of speed 'i» certainly a consideration. In thia connection it is of intarest to take the figures given by Dr. Klmmena, Chief Inspector for the London County Council; 'At a meeting o£ the Child Study Society in November, 1916,' testa were described, which showed that where print-script had been practised for some tima, . tliore was an advantage in speed in its favour at all ages up to 14 years, the figures quoted ranging from an average of 56 letters per minute, as compnrod with 32.9 for boys of 10, up to 72.6 as compared with 64 for boys of 13 years. Six months after making a change to tha printscript style their average speed was 72 letters per minuto, and their writing is described as better and more legible. There is reason to suppose that in the elementary school, at any rate, printscript can hold its own in speed against the ordinary handwriting." Dr. Ballard, Inspector of Schools for the London County Schools, says:—"lt has_ now been demonstrated that manuscript writing can bo written with equal, if not with greater speed. As for the comparative beauty of the two styles that is a point upon which argument is idle."

"A second objection to print-script is the fear that it may not prove acceptable to business men and other employers, and that its adoption would handicap 'children on leaving school. This is a matter which can only he tested by experience. There are many indications that printscrrpt is, in fact, regarded with favour *•}• bMuicE3 raeok A number pf children

who have iearnt this style of writing have already found situations in which their writing has given satisfaction, as is testified by numerous letters received by head teachers from managers of firms, railway companies, and offices in which their pupils have obtained employment. One of the largest firms in London requires all its junior clerks to adopt printBcript, and has established classes on the premises for teaching it. A girl of 14, who wrote in print-script in answer-: ing an advertisement for a clerk, obtained the post against 24 senior competitors-on. the strength of the neatness and legibility of her letters.' . .'.

One of the most progressive 'schools', the Horace Mann School, in New York, has recently employed an English teacher to teach the print-script form' of" handwriting, little has been done in NewZealand yet, but there are centres where it is possible to view this work.

' 'The aim in teaching is to equip "the individual with a final cursive handwriting that is facile and legible, and,at the same time distinguished by qualities of beauty and character because'the writer has learnt to appreciate and take pains to preserve the essential forms of the several letters.